Soul Singer
by Summer's Sunlight
Summary: Allison never expected to fall in love on a school field trip. But now she's become an important player in the supernatural world, and the wolf pack needs her far more than anyone thought possible. Will she fight to keep her new life and new love? Seth/OC
1. Field Trip

All right, my first fanfic! I've had the idea for this story for a long time, so I decided I would use fanfiction to improve my writing skills. Here is the first chapter! The title will make sense later on.

Chapter One: Field Trip

Allison's POV

The first thing I did as soon as I got off the cramped bus was stretch. My muscles were aching from sitting in one place for too long. It had been a long trip from my city of Sacramento, and a lot of kids had piled into the bus for the long-awaited trip to Ashland, Oregon.

Ashland is best known for its Shakespeare Festival. There were three different theatres where Shakespearean plays are performed along with other classics and modern plays. Our high school English teacher had insisted on a trip here for her class. I had agreed to go first. I have an unhealthy love of Shakespeare. We had come for the end of the season, in early September.

My two best friends, Lily Alanson and Veronica Worthington had signed up right after me. The rest of the class had followed suit.

Now we were finally here, ready to go to four different plays during the three-day weekend. But first, we needed to check in to our hotel.

The Ashland Springs Hotel was a massive white building with bronze decorations all over it. It was about eight stories tall, towering over the other structures on the block. According to our lovely teacher, Mrs. Beaudry, the hotel had been built in 1925 and was restored a few years ago.

"Look at how gorgeous this place is!" Lily exclaimed, brushing her short brown bangs out of her pretty brown eyes. "It's so European. Isn't it, Allison?"

"It is," I replied simply. The hotel was beautiful. I just had other things on my mind.

Like where I was going to go to college. I wanted to go to USC in southern California, but my parents wanted me to go to Stanford. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do career-wise, but I knew USC would be the perfect school for me. My father had other ideas.

He was a politician back home. He was part of the California State Senate, and people treated him like a god for it. Voters thought he could do no wrong. I knew better. Outside of the house, he was the wonderful Allen Silverton. Inside the house, his temper was legendary. More than one servant had resigned because he beat them. Unbeknownst to my mother, I knew he did other things with the servant girls, too.

I tried to put the worries of home out of mind so I could enjoy my vacation.

I stared at the hotel as Mrs. Beaudry continued her history lesson before we checked in. It was stunning. From the looks on the rest of my classmates' faces, they could care less. But I had always been a fan of history. I believed in the saying that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

"Look at how amazing this place is!" Lily had been talking the whole time, I realized. I instantly felt bad for not paying more attention to my friends.

"And the amazing, incredibly hot view that just walked in," Veronica continued. Veronica had long, silky black hair that fell to her waist, and dark, expressive eyes. She was more than a little boy crazy. She was a player, and never had a guy for more than a week at a time. She wasn't cruel, just restless.

"Oh, wow!" Lily whispered, her eyes going wide.

If Lily was interested, the guys they were ogling must be something to behold. Lily wasn't interested in anything outside of a book.

I turned to look as well. And I was not disappointed.

It was a small group, probably from a smaller school. Everyone there was clearly Native American, and there was a group at the back that towered over the rest. They were tall, muscular, and drop-dead gorgeous. There were seven of those boys in the group (if you could even call them boys).

One of the boys saw us staring, and elbowed his buddies to point us out. Another one turned to look at us, and my breath caught in my throat.

He was absolutely the most amazing man I had ever seen. His russet skin glowed, and his short hair stuck up every which way. He was muscular, but not disgustingly so. I couldn't see any other details. He was perfect in every way that I could see.

I turned away before he caught me staring too long.

"Oh my God, Allison, did you see that one staring at you?" Veronica whispered.

"Yes," I sighed. "He was gorgeous."

"He's still staring at you," Lily mentioned.

"Really?" I would have thought he would have lost interest within seconds. My long, golden hair might be pretty if it wasn't so curly and wavy and completely tangled. I never did anything with my hair. There was no point in trying to fix it. It would tangle again in two minutes, even worse than before. I did have pretty, emerald green eyes that my friends were jealous of, but he couldn't see those from that far away. I wasn't wearing anything special, either. Just dark-wash skinny jeans and a green tank top, with a dark brown pea coat and dark blue flats. I had a normal, hourglass-shaped body. Nothing to brag about.

"He looks like a man who has just seen the sun for the first time in his life," Lily said quietly.

"What book did you get that from?" I teased.

"A romance novel," she muttered in reply.

"He's still staring at you," Veronica repeated, excitement thick in her voice. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

"What? Now?" I asked incredulously.

"Time to check in, everyone! Make sure you're in your groups for the room assignments!" Mrs. Beaudry's voice interrupted our conversation. I welcomed the distraction.

Since the three of us were in a room together, we didn't need to move. Veronica, however, took my arm in one hand and Lily's arm in the other and dragged us to the back of the line.

"Why are we in the back?" Lily asked.

"Hello," a warm baritone voice said behind us.

"That's why," Veronica smiled.

We turned around to see the group of insanely large boys/men in line behind us. The one who had caught my attention, the one who had been staring at me, was at the front with a huge smile on his face. The smile was warm and inviting, the kind I couldn't ignore.

And I could ignore a lot.

"My name is Seth," he said, holding out his hand, obviously wanting to shake mine. He hadn't even glanced at Veronica or Lily. I did, though, and saw huge smiles on their faces as well. They told me I needed to date more earlier on the bus, but I didn't think they could act this fast.

I took his hand and shook it while I told him, "My name is Allison."

Then I noticed the heat coming from his surprisingly soft hand.

"Oh my god! Are you alright? Do you have a fever?" I asked, starting to freak out. He looked shocked when I put my hand to his forehead, which was burning up as well.

"We need to get you to a doctor!" I told him. He looked fine, though!

"I'm fine," he assured me quickly. "Me and the rest of the guys here run a little hotter than usual. It's genetic."

"Oh," I said oh-so intelligently. "Well, I'm going to go be completely embarrassed over there."

I started to walk away, but he took my hand in his again.

"Wait, don't go," he said, sounding desperate. "It happens all the time. Really! You shouldn't be embarrassed. It's really weird, I know. Please don't go."

I looked at his face, into his eyes, and there was no trace of humor in his stunning features. He looked scared, like holding onto my hand was the only thing keeping him alive. It was a little frightening.

"Alright," I said quietly. Veronica was at the counter now, getting our room keys. "Look, I have to go unpack, okay?"

"Cool. Ummm…" He started, but couldn't finish. He seemed so nervous. It was adorable. I had never had a guy become speechless around me before. It was flattering.

"You want to get dinner with me and my friends tonight?" I asked him quickly, before I could lose my nerve. "You can bring your friends, too. Our play is at eight, so there's three hours to eat."

"Of course! I'd love to. We'd love to. I –"

I cut him off. He was stumbling over his words, and it was adorable, but I didn't want to embarrass him too much. "I need to go unpack and get changed. We'll meet you here in the lobby in half an hour?"

"Definitely," he answered breathlessly.

I turned and walked away, but I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

Seth's POV

She was here. My beautiful, long-awaited imprint was here. I had been excited about this field trip for weeks. Edward and Bella talked about Shakespeare a lot, and made me want to see the plays acted out so I could understand what was going on.

It had been a long trip from La Push to Ashland, but I knew it would be worth it. I just didn't know it would be worth my life.

"Seth, what is wrong with you?" Brady asked critically. I didn't let it bother me. I had my imprint now, and she was beautiful with wild blonde hair and compassionate green eyes. She was so kind. She barely knew me, but she started freaking out about me having a fever. That wasn't something you see every day.

"Seth, you just imprinted on a girl on a field trip," Collin said sadly. "She might not even live in Washington. She could live thousands of miles away."

Thousands of miles away? That far out of my reach? Who would protect her? Who would love her? Why was I letting her go that far away?

"It'll all work out guys," Russell said. "We'll find a way to make it all work."

Russ was two years younger than me, and he always knew what to say. I had just started my senior year, Brady and Collin were juniors, and Russell was a sophomore. He was wiser than the three of us combined.

"Fine," Brady said. "Let's just go check in, and get ready for our dates. Your imprint's friend with the long black hair looks like fun."

"If we're lucky, they'll have the same schedule of plays as us," Collin told me.

"Yeah, if I'm lucky," I repeated. I had a terrible feeling I wouldn't be.

But I went up to the room I was sharing with Brady, Collin, and Russ, and got ready for the first dinner date with my perfect imprint, Allison. I dressed with care, a simple blue polo and black jeans. I didn't want to get too dressed up. We weren't going anywhere special. The person I was going with was the special one.

The rest of the pack had dressed similarly. We made our way down to the lobby to meet with the girls. We got there before them. I wasn't surprised. Both Mom and Leah took longer to get ready than they said they would need.

But when the girls walked out of the elevator, I was speechless. Allison's long, waist-length hair had been tamed into perfect, spiraled, golden curls. She had put make-up on, drawing attention to her beautiful green eyes and making them stand out. She had changed into a purple dress that hugged her curves perfectly and flowed to her knees. Metallic gold sandals that looked like they belonged on a gladiator finished her breathtaking look.

She smiled tentatively at me. I couldn't help but reach out to take her hand. She placed her small, delicate hand in mine, and I thought I was going to sing from the avalanche of joy I was feeling.

She slipped her hand into the crook of my arm, like I was escorting her to some fancy party. We started for the door leading outside.

I could hear the pack and Allison's friends talking behind me about where we were going to go, but I couldn't bring myself to pay attention. Not when I had the world's most perfect girl on my arm. My imprint.

**Please review! It would make my day, and I would post chapter two in less than a few days...**


	2. Soul Mate

Soul Singer

Chapter Two: Dinner and Shakespeare

Allison's POV

If there was any one man on this earth who was absolutely perfect for me, it was Seth. He had stared at me when Veronica, Lily, and I had walked out of the elevator like I was the only girl there. Like I was the only girl that existed.

He had held out his hand like a true gentleman, and escorted me out of the building. Five minutes later, I was grateful I had worn my gladiator flats. The restaurant we had picked was a few blocks away, and judging by the complaints I could hear from Veronica, five-inch stilettos would have been very uncomfortable.

Seth and I led the way, my hand comfortably nestled in the corner of his arm. We would look at one another every now and then, and would catch the other staring. Then we would quickly look away. I felt beautiful, for the first time in my life. I felt special.

Munchies, the restaurant Lily had chosen, was in a basement at the end of a street. Instead of looking scary or intimidating, it felt warm and inviting. Seth stepped in front of me and helped me down the stairs. We both knew I didn't need his help. He was doing it to make me feel safe and secure. That was far more important to me than just helping me.

Dinner was wonderful. Munchies, it turned out, was a little diner with amazingly good food. My fish had been cooked to perfection, and by the way Seth and his friends devoured the burgers, they were delicious, too. Then again, they were boys. Some of them just ate like that, I was told.

We sat in the diner after dinner was finished, just talking. I didn't think my friends would get along with Seth's friends for longer than the weekend, though. Lily and Veronica were the daughters of politicians, too. The three of us had been trained from the cradle that we were to always look our best, act politely towards everyone, and always make our parents look like model parents and model citizens.

Seth's friends were so easygoing in comparison. They laughed a lot at jokes that weren't that funny, but their laughter was infectious. They were a group of friends that didn't have to worry about politics or paparazzi or anything like that. They had to worry about keeping their grades up, getting to work on time, and other normal things. I wished desperately that I could be a part of that life. One where my father didn't control me, where I was the master of my own destiny. But it was nothing but a wish, because my father would never let me go. I was his pride and joy. At least, to the media and the voters. My father's career was his true pride and joy. Both me and my mother were just tools to reach that constant goal of reelection.

I stopped myself from thinking about the differences in our two groups and tried to think about the similarities. Both Veronica and Brady were players. They both had quick tempers. Collin was just as shy as Lily. Both started talking up a storm as soon as a conversation was started that involved books.

Seth held my hand underneath the table. I had just met him, but it felt like I had known him my entire life.

"We should probably start heading over to the theatre," I called out into the cacophony of sounds at our table.

"Wait, what play are you three going to see tonight?" Seth asked me.

"Tonight is 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'," I answered.

Seth let out a huge sigh of relief. "Good, we're going to the same play tonight."

"I'll ask Brady if he'll trade seats with me, that way we can sit together and Veronica and Brady can entertain one another," I suggested. His face lit up at the idea.

"Good idea! Brady!" he shouted to his friend on the other side of the table. "You're switching seats with Allison!"

"Okay! Me and Veronica can party on our side of the theatre!" he shouted back.

"Hell yeah!" Veronica agreed enthusiastically.

"Everything's set. Want to head out now so we can take our time?" Seth asked.

"Sounds great," I told him.

I left my money for the check with Lily. She would give me my change back. Seth did the same with his friend Russ.

Brady started hooting and hollering once he realized Seth and I were leaving early. We weren't leaving so we could do anything sexual or outrageous (my father would kill me if anything like that happened and it leaked to the press). I was just eager to get to know him better. I think he was just as eager to get to know me, too.

We started wandering down the street, and it was chilly. I had forgotten to grab a jacket from my luggage earlier, so I snuggled up next to Seth, putting both of my hands into the crook of his arm this time. I was instantly grateful for is unnatural body heat. I was warm in no time.

I looked up to his eyes and forgot how to breathe. His smile was stunning, and his eyes were shining with joy. How could he be this happy, just to be with me? I wanted to ask him, but I chose another question that would be less likely to offend or upset him. Or embarrass me.

"What's your family like?" I decided on.

"They're great," he answered, and launched into a huge story about his family. How his mother was strong and wonderful, how his father was caring and just as strong as his mother, and how his sister was the bravest person he knew. He talked about deep-sea fishing with his father, watching his mother bake cookies or make dinner, and arguing with his sister about stupid things. I almost cried when he told me how Leah had her heart broken by the man she loved. I did cry when he told me his father died when he was only fifteen. Seth had gone crazy when he saw me wiping away tears, wailing about how stupid he is for telling me, and how I shouldn't cry, and how he had accepted it and gotten over it years ago. It didn't stop me from being sad.

My father was an absolute monster, and was still alive and spreading misery. Seth's father sounded like one of the best people to bless this planet with their presence, and he had died too young, leaving behind a family that truly cared about him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Seth did mention that his mom was dating someone new, and that made me feel a little better.

Seth asked me about my family, and I quickly changed the subject. He got the hint, and didn't ask again.

Instead, I told him more about Veronica and Lily. How wild Veronica was, and how her parents were desperately trying to regain control over her. How Lily didn't care about anything that wasn't in her books, and how she was a hopeless romantic.

We kept walking and eventually wandered our way into a park. Fireflies danced around us as we walked down a trail next to a creek. We kept shooting shy glances at one another.

We both were silent, but it was a comfortable silence. No one else was around as we meandered down the path. We were the only ones there, and for once, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I realized then that I had never been kissed. That I had never cared enough about a boy to spend that kind of time with him. Seth was different. There was something _more_ to life when he was with me. I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life like this. And that was the truly terrifying thought.

I had just met Seth today, and I was considering being with him for the rest of my life.

"Allison?" Seth's sweet voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up at him. His face was so wonderful, full of kindness and compassion. No, I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with him. Not in the slightest. "Yes?" I answered.

"Can I call you Ali?" he sounded so unsure. I wanted to erase that. And no one had ever given me a nickname before. I was always Allison. Now I was Ali.

"Sure," I said, and I could feel the smile on my face. The insecurity in his eyes vanished at my answer, and was replaced by happiness.

The sun had dipped below the mountains surrounding the city, and the sky was painted with all of the beautiful colors of a sunset. Fireflies were dancing around us, and the water in the creek was singing as it passed. The universe was giving me a sign. This was the most romantic setting possible.

"Seth?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah?" he looked down at me as I moved to stand in front of him.

I saw the look in his eyes. If I had known him longer, and he knew me better, I would have sworn it was love. Regardless of what it really was, it erased my doubts.

I stood up on the tips of my toes, placed my hands on his shoulders, and pressed my lips to his. I was swept up in a whirlwind of emotions. His lips felt perfect against mine, and I knew in an instant that I never wanted to kiss anybody but Seth for the rest of my life.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. It was a chaste kiss, but so full of emotion it left me breathless.

I pulled away, and looked into his dark eyes, full of an emotion I think might be love. I had made the right decision, because I think I was in love, too.

"We should probably head over to the theatre," I said breathlessly.

"Yeah," he looked so dazed. "Ali?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

I did, but I decided to take a line from the Beatles to answer him. It sounded much better, and described what I was feeling and thinking a lot more.

"I'm certain it happens all the time."

He took my hand in his. We headed down the street towards a stairway that led straight to the theatre.

After that night, Seth and I were inseparable. We spent every spare moment possible together. We ate every meal together, switched tickets around so we were always right next to one another during plays. We held hands all of the time. And every moment I spent with him only made my budding love for him grow.

Veronica said it was unhealthy to pick one guy and quit. She said I needed to play the field, or at least wait more than a few hours before thinking I was in love. To which I answered, "I know I'm in love."

Lily understood, and encouraged us as much as possible.

Seth's friends, surprisingly, encouraged us, too. They didn't tease him as much as I thought they would. They were genuinely happy for us, and welcomed me into their group with open arms.

Sunday night, after sneaking out to take another walk in the park, I fell asleep, and Seth had to carry me back to my room. We never did more than kiss and hold hands and cuddle. It was more than enough for both of us.

Monday morning greeted me, and I wanted to shrink into my bedcovers and not get up. This was my last day in Ashland, my last day in paradise with Seth. At this point, both Lily and I were convinced Seth was my soul mate. Veronica didn't say anything about that one.

"Allison," Lily called gently. "You have to get up. Seth is leaving in an hour. You should spend as much time with him as you can."

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I had been given a taste of heaven, and now it was being taken away from me.

I pulled myself together quickly. Today was my last day with him, and I would make it special for him. I put effort into my hair again so it was perfect. I put a beautiful blue sleeveless blouse on, with black skinny jeans. I was thin enough to carry off the look. I did my make-up carefully and quickly packed everything into my suitcase.

As soon as I opened the door to go meet Seth downstairs, strong arms picked my suitcase out of my hands. Seth had waited by our door so he could help me with my suitcase. I had mentioned Friday night that it was kind of heavy. How did he remember?

I looked at his face, and it didn't matter anymore. His usually bright, happy eyes were dull, and his perpetual grin had been replaced with a frown. He looked as depressed as I felt.

"Hi, Seth," I whispered.

"Hey, Ali," he replied.

We were silent on the elevator down. I clung to him in an iron grip of a hug. He held onto me just as tightly. Outside, his bus was waiting, kids loading up their stuff before breakfast. The bus for my school was around the corner. He helped me load all of my stuff into the storage compartments underneath the bus. We walked silently back to his bus before I threw myself into his arms and held on as tight as I could.

"It shouldn't be possible," I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me. "It shouldn't be possible for me to love you this much in such a short amount of time."

"I know," he replied, his voice thick with emotion. "It shouldn't be, but it is. But I love you, too, and after our senior year, we'll find a way to be together."

"You have my cell number, right?" I asked.

"I already have it memorized," he said.

"And my email?"

"It's memorized, too."

Russ walked up to us. "Seth, it's time to get going. Teacher said to load up."

"Thanks, Russ," Seth said quietly.

"No problem, Seth. Allison, it was great to meet you," he said.

"It was great meeting you, too," I told him.

"I'm sure we'll see one another again eventually," he said before he got onto the bus. There was a message there, but I couldn't focus enough to care.

Three windows opened up and all of Seth's friends stuck their heads out and shouted goodbye, we'll see you soon, I better be in the wedding party (that was Brady). I waved goodbye. It was all I could do.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," Seth whispered back.

We kissed, he took a step back, and walked onto the bus. He immediately pushed Brady out of the way of a window and waved goodbye to me, blowing a kiss. I blew one back, and waved until I couldn't see the bus anymore.

"The two of you are going to be together forever, you know that, right?" Lily had walked up behind me and put her arm around my shoulders in an effort to console me.

"Yeah, I know," I answered truthfully. I would just have to wait a year before I got my happily ever after. It was a small price to pay for the joy that would accompany the rest of my life.

"Will you idiots hurry up? I want to go home now," Veronica called over to us angrily. I don't know why she was so upset about me and Seth. I would have thought one of my best friends would be happy for me.

"We're coming," Lily called back to her. She softened her voice when she turned to me and said, "Everything will work out, Allison. It always does."

With that, we got on the bus that would take me farther away from the boy who had quickly stolen my heart.

Not stolen. I gave it to him willingly, the same way he gave me his.

As I settled into my seat next to Lily, I consoled myself with thoughts of my first night with Seth. The bus lurched forward, and I closed my eyes.


	3. Run Away

**To answer the request by one of my reviewers, it won't take long to get Allison away from Sacramento. Seth will show up late in the next chapter or early in chapter five. Thank you all for reading!**

**Oh, and I forgot this in the previous two chapters, but this statement applies to them as well as every single chapter after this: I do not own Twilight. It would've ended a lot differently if I did.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Runaway

The past eight months had been the best of my life. I was back in California, and Seth was in Washington, but I couldn't help but feel happy. I called Seth constantly, whenever I had a free moment, and we would talk for _hours_.

I called him every single night, just to say goodnight. We always ended up saying so much more, despite whatever Seth said about my needing sleep. I didn't need sleep, I needed Seth.

I truly loved everything about him. He was sweet, and kind, and brave, and ridiculous, and all of that just made me love him more.

I was currently trying to find a way to convince my father to let me go to college in Washington, so Seth and I could at least visit on the weekends. But he was dead-set on Stanford. My father just wanted to keep me near him so he could keep controlling me, and using me during his election campaigns.

My father was getting more and more agitated as of late. He had another year before the next election race started, so I couldn't imagine what was going on with him.

Lily sat next to me, in her living room. She knew about my father's sudden mood swings, and had invited me to stay at her house whenever I needed a break. We both benefitted, since I got away from my father, and she got to hear me talk about Seth.

Veronica had stopped talking to both of us a few weeks after we got back from the field trip. She claimed I was ridiculous for falling in love so fast, and Lily was even worse because she was supporting me. I couldn't help it if my soul mate came into my life. The sad thing was I didn't really miss her. I had Lily, and, most of all, I had Seth.

I had been staying at Lily's house for the past two days. We had watched movies, she had tamed my wild curls (for some reason, she enjoyed fixing my hair), and we had put the phone on speaker whenever Seth called so she wouldn't feel left out. Seth had been enthusiastic. He had spent the past two nights asking Lily all kinds of questions about me. When the boyfriend topic came up, she said Seth was my first boyfriend, and was probably going to be the only one. I had blushed like crazy, but Seth had been ecstatic.

"He's the one for you," Lily said suddenly. I looked up to see her staring at me intently.

"I know," I replied softly. I couldn't get the picture of his face smiling at me out of my head.

"I wish I could find love like that," Lily continued. "I wish I could just randomly meet a handsome boy and be completely in love and have him feel the same way about me."

"I'm sorry, Lily. It'll happen for you. If there's any justice in this world, you'll find the guy who's perfect for you in every way," I told her sincerely. I was beyond happy. She deserved that kind of happiness, too.

"I hope so," she whispered. Then she glanced at the clock. "It's almost seven. You should probably get going."

"I know," I groaned, getting off the couch. "But I don't want to. I just want to go to Washington and cuddle up with Seth."

She giggled. "I know, but you need to deal with your dad just a little longer. Everything will work out. You'll see."

"I hope you're right," I sighed. Because if she wasn't, I was doomed to a life of my father's choosing. Which was another great thing about Seth: he never wanted me to do anything I didn't want to do. A few months ago, I had complained about going to a dinner party, and he told me flat out not to go. Why would I go if I didn't want to? he had asked. I told him because my parents wanted me to. He had told me angrily that I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to, regardless of what my parents wanted. Regardless of what anyone wanted. I was free to make my own decisions and be happy.

God, I loved him.

I gathered my things and called Bernard, the family chauffeur. He arrived minutes later, in the long, flashy black limousine my father had insisted on. He thought it showed everyone how important we are. I thought it was ridiculous.

The drive back home was uneventful. It took all of my effort to not tap the window divider and tell Bernard to take me to La Push in Washington. I honestly did not want to go home.

When we pulled up to the big, flashy white mansion my parents had chosen to live in, Bernard helped me carry my things up to the front door. As soon as the front door opened, I wanted to run away screaming.

Bangs, clatters, and screams echoed throughout the house. I could hear my father shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Stupid bitch! When will you learn how to cook a decent meal? What did they teach you in that stupid culinary school? You stupid, worthless –"

"Allen, stop it! You're going to kill her!" I could hear my mother's frantic voice rising. "What will the neighbors think?"

Of course. My mother couldn't think about anything but what other people would think of her supposedly perfect American family.

Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take living with these selfish, monstrous people anymore.

"Miss Allison!" a small voice came from behind me. I turned to see Patricia, our housekeeper, rush up to me, panic clear on her face.

"Patricia, I'm leaving," I said bluntly. I didn't have the energy to be kind at the moment. "For good. I'm not coming back. I never want to see these people again."

"Oh, thank goodness!" she cried out softly. "I was hoping you would get far away from them! It's a miracle you've turned out so kind and caring, considering!"

"I'm going upstairs to pack a few things," I told her. I didn't bother to stay quiet. There was no way my parents could hear me. "Could you call Bernard back? I'm going to the airport."

"Alright," she said. She looked like she was debating something important in her thoughts, but I couldn't worry about that right now.

I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I opened my smallest travelling bag, and started stuffing the things I couldn't leave behind in it. A few outfits I had bought went in first, instead of the wardrobe filled with clothes my parents had approved. I grabbed my notebook, and drawing pencils, and threw them in next. I carefully wrapped a shirt around a picture frame of with two pictures: one of me and Seth, where Russ had taken a picture when we weren't looking, and the other was me and Lily on graduation night.

The first picture had Seth and me looking into one another's eyes, completely oblivious to anything else. The world could have ended during that stare, and we wouldn't have noticed. The one with Lily and me had us with our hideous red-orange caps and gowns still on, arms around one another, smiling widely. I had been thinking about what Seth would have said if he were there so the smile wouldn't look fake.

I had graduated a week ago. I had turned eighteen two weeks ago. My parents had no legal claim to me anymore, and if I disappeared, they could do nothing.

I checked to make sure I had the bracelet he had sent me for Christmas before I zipped up the bag. The pretty blues, purples, and greens were perfect for my pale skin. Seth had said it was the Quileute equivalent of a promise ring. I hadn't taken it off my left wrist since.

I thought hard about what else I could do before I left for good. I ran into my father's study, and grabbed four of his credit cards from his desk. Those should help with the plane tickets. I quickly shoved them in my purse.

I ran back downstairs and almost bumped into Patricia.

"Wait," she said quietly. I don't know why, my parents were still screaming. "Here."

She stuffed an envelope from today's mail into my hand. A hand written name and address was scrawled across the back.

"If you're going north, ask this man for papers," she said hoarsely. She was so frightened, her Hungarian accent was leaking through. "He can give you every document you need to start a new life."

I understood why she was so frightened now. She was afraid I might turn her in for being an illegal immigrant with forged documents.

"Thank you, Patricia!" I hugged her as tightly as I could with the bag and envelope still in hand. "This is exactly what I need to start over!"

I rushed out the door to see Bernard waiting for me at the curb. I threw my bag and myself into the backseat and said, "Airport, please."

He started driving faster than I could have thought possible. I stuffed the envelope with my chance at a new life written on the back in my purse, and started on my plan for escape.

First, I called Lily on my Blackberry.

"Lily, I know this sounds strange, but I need you to lie to my parents when they call to ask if I'm staying with you," I said hurriedly.

"You're finally running away!" she cried out. "Finally! I'll lie to your parents for as long as possible! Go find your man and your new life!"

I threw the Blackberry out the window after we hung up. My parents could have it traced once they realized I was gone. I reached into my bag and grabbed the prepaid phone I had bought so I could talk to Seth without my parents finding out. They would freak if they found out about me dating "a lowly Native from nowhere Washington" is how they probably would have put it.

I used the crappy phone to call the only number I had ever called on it. Seth's end of the line rang three times before someone answered it. And it wasn't Seth.

"Who is this?" I demanded.

"Allison? It's Russ. Seth's at work, and I'm on break, so I figured I would answer to make sure nothing was up," Russ's light tenor voice replied.

I had yet another brilliant idea. "Russ, I need your help. I'm moving to La Push, I need an apartment to rent. Can you help find a place for me?"

"Seth doesn't know about this, does he?" Russ was incredibly observant.

"Nope. But it'll be one hell of a surprise, won't it?" I asked sweetly.

"Tch. He'll be over the moon when he finds out," he paused. "Actually, I like this better than him knowing. Now we won't have to hear about it for weeks."

"Actually, I think I'm going to be there sooner than a couple of weeks," I said hesitantly.

"How soon?" he asked warily.

"Like, tomorrow?"

Silence.

"What happened?" Russ's voice was suddenly angry. More than angry. Having dealt with Seth over the phone for the past few months, I had an idea of how to calm him down.

"I'm not hurt, no one insulted me, I just… it was a last minute decision, I know, but…" I trailed off, hoping he would calm down.

"I'm not sure I believe you," he began, "but I'd rather have you here than there. Seth said something has been bothering you lately. We'll deal with it once you get here."

"Good enough," I sighed. Then Bernard tapped on the glass divider. "Look, I just got to the airport. I'll call you once I have more information, okay?"

"Okay. Call me as soon as you know what's going on," it didn't escape me that that wasn't a request.

"I will," I promised. "Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up, and slumped in my seat. I felt the limo pull to a stop, and grudgingly got out with my suitcase and purse in hand. I told Bernard goodbye, and I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes, but if I broke down now, I wouldn't stop and that would call attention to myself.

I walked to one of the kiosks in the front entryway of the huge building. The lady behind it looked nice enough. Maybe she wouldn't ask questions about the strange order I was about to place.

"Hello," I said in my most friendly voice, "I know this is going to sound odd, but I need to buy a couple of tickets for my father's employees."

"Go right on ahead, dear," she said happily.

"Okay," I said, the nervousness in my voice evident. "I need a ticket for Seattle, Houston, New York, Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Cairo, all first class. The sooner the flights leave, the better. And I don't mind layovers."

"Alright," she said in her same cheery tone. She told me the price, and I almost felt bad, but then I remembered the poor cook who was probably in the intensive care unit right now, and my pity vanished. I handed her one of the cards, and gave her a shy smile.

"It's my father's card," I told her.

"It's alright, dear, I'm sure your father sent you here," she said while she swiped the card. In a way, though, my father _had_ sent me here. Just with his cruelty instead of asking me.

She handed the card back to me with her same big smile. I thanked her and walked towards the gates. I looked at my ticket for Seattle and almost cried out in frustration. I had a twelve hour layover in Las Vegas! Las Vegas was in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go! I could only hope that would throw my father off even more. Plus, I had heard that the lights of Las Vegas were one of the most beautiful sights a person could see.

The plane ride was short, less than forty-five minutes. Las Vegas did not disappoint, either. I could see the city fifteen minutes before we landed, and it was truly beautiful. Las Vegas proved it was the gambling capital of the world, though, when I got off the plane to find slot machines in the gates and terminals. I picked up my luggage and grabbed a taxi.

I was exhausted. It had been one long day, so I picked a random hotel (the Palm Springs if it mattered), rented a room, and went to bed.

I had a strange dream that night. I dreamed of a strange world, where bright colors of every shade swirled around dizzyingly. A tall, powerfully built Native American man that looked a lot like Seth and the boys stood proud in front of me. He was dressed in furs, and his elaborate headdress made me think he was the chief of his tribe.

"You are the one we have waited for," he told me seriously.

"For what?" I asked, completely confused.

"You have the ability to become a shaman, someone who can communicate with the spirits of the dead and the spirits of nature. My tribe needs you," he clarified. Only, I was still confused. A shaman?

"Awaken, young one. In order to become a shaman, you must pass the test. If you do, I will become your spirit guide. Awaken," he said.

My eyes blinked open, and I stared at the ceiling of my hotel room. I had never had such a strange dream.

I tried to sit up, but something was suddenly holding me down. The Indian chief appeared on top of me, and started strangling me.

I gasped for air and found none. I struggled against him, trying to shove him off or pry his hands from my neck. Neither action worked.

"You must fight!" the Indian chief shouted. "You must fight me off, or this test will kill you!"

I tried, but I was losing strength quickly. I didn't want to die here, at the hands of… well, I wasn't sure what he was, but I didn't want him to kill me.

"If you won't fight for yourself, at least fight for Seth!" That had me struggling harder. It hurt my throat even more, but I did it. "I once lost the love of my life. I was lost, too, until she found me again. Do not put him through that kind of agony! Fight for your life! Fight!"

I couldn't fight him off. The rational part of my brain knew he was bigger than me, stronger than me, and had me pinned down. The irrational part of me was screaming at the rational side to shut up and fight!

Somewhere in the background, I heard a woman's voice shouting, "You can do it, Allison! You were born for this! Fight!"

So I fought. And found a strength I never knew I had.

Suddenly, I pushed the Indian chief off me, and threw him to the floor. I jumped on top of him punching him in the face, screaming, "You will not take my life away from me now! I just got away from that bastard, and you are not ruining my new life! Not now, not ever! NOT EVER!"

Then, he disappeared, and I fell to the floor.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew you could do it, Allison!" a female voice called out.

I turned around, and standing next to my bed was the Indian chief with one arm around the waist of a beautiful Indian woman. Both of them were smiling at me warmly.

"Congratulations, Allison," the Indian chief said proudly. "You are the new shaman of the Quileute Indian tribe."

"What?" I was beyond confused. This guy had just tried to kill me, and now he was acting all friendly?

"You will be the connection to the past our tribe needs," the woman said. "That is what a shaman does. You talk with the spirits and help the spirit world give help to the living world."

"Wait, the Quileute tribe? As in, Seth's tribe? What do they need help with?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, Seth's tribe," the chief answered. "They are dealing with dangerous invaders, and you need to convey the wisdom of the dead to the ones still alive."

"How am I supposed to do this?" I asked.

"We will help you," the giant Indian chief said. "As I promised, I will be your spirit guide. My name is Taha Aki. This is my wife, Ana Rika."

"Don't worry, Allison," Ana Rika told me. "We'll help you, and we'll always be with you."

"Alright," I said firmly. "You're going to tell me the whole story, from the beginning."

"Very well," Taha Aki agreed. "We owe you that much. Over a thousand years ago, I was the ruling chief of my tribe…"

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	4. In La Push

**I have ten alerts, three favorites, and five reviews! And twenty-six hits for the third chapter! I conclude that someone is reading this story. To celebrate, Chapter Four is up and running!**

**Once again, I do not own Twilight. If you think Stephenie Meyer is hanging out on FanFiction, you have issues.**

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Chapter Four: To La Push

"Alright, let me see if I get this straight," I said to the two ancient Indian spirits sitting in my hotel room. "Whenever vampires come near La Push, some of the young men in the tribe turn into giant wolves to protect the reservation."

"Correct," Taha Aki answered.

"These young men are your descendents."

"Correct."

"And some of these wolves 'imprint' on girls to find their soul mates."

"Correct."

"I'm Seth's imprint and soul mate."

"Correct."

"And I just happen to be able to talk to spirits now in order to help the current wolf pack."

"Correct."

"And you," I looked at Taha Aki, "are my spirit guide, the spirit who is always with me and always helping and protecting me?"

"Correct."

I looked at the both of them. "Is that everything?"

"Pretty much," Ana Rika answered happily. "We'll give you more details later, but I think you have plenty to deal with right now."

"Thanks," I said weakly.

My phone began to ring, so I fished through my purse and pulled it out to answer it.

"Human technology never ceases to amaze me," Ana Rika said.

"Hello," I answered.

"Allison? It's Russ."

"Russ!" Someone normal to talk to! Actually, Russ turned into a wolf bigger than a horse, so he's not really normal.

"I think I found a place for you to live!" he exclaimed.

"Russ, you're amazing!" I told him as I started to get everything together for a shower. I had two hours before my plane left. Plenty of time.

"I know. When do you need me to pick you up from the airport?"

I paused. "You're picking me up?"

"Yeah. I'm not letting Seth's im- girlfriend come to La Push alone! He'd kill me if he found out."

I giggled. He almost said 'imprint'. I forgot he didn't know that I knew all about the secret now.

"Very true. I'll be at the airport in Seattle at-" I paused. I needed to go see that lawyer with the fake papers, so I should estimate high, "six o'clock, alright?"

"I'll be there. Safe trip, Ali."

"You, too." I hung up the phone.

"Well," I said to my spirits, "we now have a ride to La Push."

"We kind of already knew that," Ana Rika said.

"The spirits know everything," Taha Aki informed me.

"Wonderful," I said sarcastically. "Now, I'm going to go get breakfast."

"After that, we're going to show you how to get money from your father," Aki said with a wicked smile on his face.

"I have his credit cards," I reminded him.

"Credit cards can be traced. Cash can't. I'm going to show you how to get all of the cash you need using those cards," Aki said, his wicked grin widening.

"You have a wicked sense of justice, Aki," I said. "I love it."

Rika laughed. "All spirits have that sense of justice. We expect your help carrying it out, too."

Putting my father even more into debt? Making him pay for my running away? Literally?

"I think I'm going to be a good shaman," I told them.

They just laughed.

After my shower and breakfast, I realized I had paid for my room with a credit card. I would need to buy a whole new round of tickets to throw them off again, this time from the Las Vegas airport. I bought the tickets online this time, so there would be no questions from the clerks at the airport. This time, I sent them all over the world, with tickets for six of the seven different continents. Aki pointed that one out to me.

After that, Aki pointed me towards a little desk in the heart of the casino downstairs. It was a kiosk where you could get cash from credit cards to use for gambling.

"Hello," I greeted the creepy looking clerk kindly. I placed all four credit cards on the counter. "I'd like to forward all of these cards up to their maximum limit."

"Are these your credit cards?" he asked dully.

"They belong to my father," I gave the clerk a shy smile. He fell for it. Or he didn't care. He probably just didn't care. After all, the casino would get that money no matter what happened next.

"Okay. I'll be back in ten minutes," he said, and walked away to wherever they held the money in this hotel.

When he came back, I held out the duffel bags I had bought to carry all of the cash.

"Here's your seven hundred fifty thousand bucks," he said.

"Thank you," I said sweetly once he finished piling it all in.

"No problem," he replied, and then picked up a magazine.

I walked away with my contraband, threw the now-useless credit cards into the trash, and asked the front desk receptionist if she could get me a taxi to the airport.

Surprisingly, I had no trouble at the airport. I checked my bags, and they charged me extra for the two duffel bags. I didn't complain.

The flight was long, but Aki and Rika kept me entertained. They told me stories about all of the wolves, the feud – then the truce – with the Cullen vampire family, the newborn war, and the clash with the Volturi. They made sure other spirits didn't bother me. There were thousands of them! They all wanted me to talk to them, or help them move on. Aki assured me that it wasn't my job to help these spirits move on. I should leave that to the mediums. It was my job to help the Quileute tribe in any way I could.

After arriving at the airport, I grabbed a quick lunch then got another taxi to take me to J. Jenks. I ordered all of the documents I would need to start over, and changed my name to Allison Sterling. I figured it fit me well enough.

Jenks told me he could have all of the documents finished in a week, and I could pick them up at a random address in the suburbs where one of his men would be waiting for me with the documents. I wrote the address down quickly, paid Jenks, and left.

I returned to the airport to wait for Russ. It was raining like crazy outside, so I sat in the food court to wait. Aki waited outside so he could tell me when Russ arrived so I wouldn't get cold or wet waiting for him. Having spirits around was actually kind of helpful.

So, I was waiting outside when Russ showed up, and he immediately started apologizing for making me wait outside in the rain. He helped me load my things into the back, commenting on how he thought I would have brought more stuff (if only he knew what was in the two huge duffel bags), and we started out on the highway towards La Push. I told him I had been outside for thirty seconds, and I was fine. After the fifth apology, though, I wanted to tell him to shut up, but that would be rude, so I settled for something nicer.

"Russ, is this your way of telling me you have nothing else to talk about?"

He looked dumbstruck for a second, then he seemed to get what I was going for.

"Sorry. I don't… talk to girls that much," he said shyly.

"He means he doesn't talk to girls who aren't in on the secret," Rika whispered to me. I don't know why she's whispering. Russ can't hear her, or any other spirit. In fact, I'm the only one who can communicate with the spirits, according to Aki.

"It's fine," I told him. "How about you tell me about the place I'm going to be renting instead?"

"Oh, yeah! Well, one of the tribal elders hasn't been doing so well health-wise, so Old Quil's going to be living with his son and his family from now on. Old Quil is kind of stubborn, and he refuses to sell the house, though. So, when I told Old Quil Seth's girlfriend was coming to live in La Push, he said he would love to rent the place out to you, and short of tearing it down, you can do whatever you want with the place. That way, he… well, I'm not going to repeat what Old Quil said, but it was something to the effect of telling his son to screw off."

"Well, okay then," I laughed. Old Quil sounded like fun.

"Yeah, he gets to keep the house and have some extra income. By the way, the rent he set is a steal. Four hundred bucks a month, no deposit!"

"No way!" I gasped. I had estimated about five hundred for an apartment, but I was getting a whole house for one hundred dollars less?

"Yes way. The house is a few miles away from town, so you'll need to get a car soon so you can drive yourself."

"I have plenty for a decent car." I had a lot more than that, but he didn't need to know about me robbing my father blind. He would understand once I told him why, but that would start everyone looking into my old life, and I didn't want them examining the life I had decided to leave behind.

"How many rooms does it have?" I asked curiously.

"Two bedrooms and one bathroom. It's not that big, but I didn't think you would need a lot of space," he said.

"That's perfect," I told him. I had hated how huge my parents' house was. It was like trying to tell everyone we were better than them, when we weren't. Besides, I just wanted a small space to call my own. Now, I would have one.

We spent the rest of the trip talking about our favorite movies. He was shocked when I told him about my love for action films. He was even more surprised when I told him how much I loved the James Bond movies. Sean Connery was one of my favorite actors.

When we pulled into La Push, he declared that I would fit in with everyone perfectly.

We had to drive a while to get to my new place. We were far in the woods. Russ said there were wolves around, but if I didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother me. Off a small road was my new little house. It was designed to look like a cabin, and it almost blended in with the forest around it. The flower beds around it were empty, but tidy. There was a two car garage about a hundred feet to the left of the house.

"It's perfect," I breathed.

I could hear Russ's sigh of relief. "Glad to hear it," he said.

He helped me unload my things and gave me the key. Then he said, "Old Quil's grandson will be by to drop off dinner, courtesy of Emily Uley. Her cooking is amazing, by the way. Seth is out of town, visiting an aunt in Olympia with his mom and sister. They'll be back in two days."

"Thanks, Russ. For everything," I said sincerely.

"No problem," he replied with a smile.

As he drove away, I inspected my little house. It was perfect, but the living room and bedrooms needed new furniture. There was no dining room, just a big kitchen with enough room for a four-person table. The table was a beautiful piece of woodwork. I wondered who had made it.

Rika and Aki had left to inspect the woods. I unpacked my clothes into the surprisingly large closet in the master bedroom, and stuffed the two duffel bags under the old bed. The frame of the bed was too rusted to identify what the metal had been, and the mattress looked like it was fifty years old. That was definitely going.

I was sitting at the dining room table, making a list of what I should buy when I went back to Seattle to get the papers from Jenks associate in a week, when a loud knock resounded against the door.

I answered the door, and found an enormous Quileute man and an adorable little. "Hi, you must be Quil."

"Yep, and this is Claire," he gestured to the little girl at his side. She smiled shyly. I wanted to squeal, it was so cute. Quil continued with, "And you're Allison?"

I nodded. "Want to come inside?" I was lonely. I was used to a house with a dozen servants, plus the occasional gardener.

"Sure. Emily figured you might not want to eat alone, so she made enough for us, too," he answered with a smile.

"I like this Emily already," I laughed.

"You'll love her even more once you've tasted the food. This is a casserole, I think she said," he said.

So we had dinner, and I told him my plans for redecorating the house.

To which he responded with, "My grandpa doesn't give a rat's ass as long as the place is still standing."

"Don't use that kind of language around Claire!" I scolded, and kicked him under the table. I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him (his leg was hard as a rock!), but it was the point that counted.

"How's school, Claire?" I asked.

"It's fun! I just graduated from the third grade, and my teacher was super nice, and she helped us make cards for Father's Day before school got out, and now I'm going into the fourth grade, and I hope my new teacher is just as nice as Ms. Reddinger, and…" she continued on. I was surprised she didn't need to stop to breathe.

Just then, a wolf howl cut through the night, and Quil froze.

"It's a warning," Aki was at my side in an instant. "Quil needs to leave to meet the other wolves to find out why Jacob has called everyone."

"Claire," I said, "why don't we go see if the TV works?"

"Okay!" That little girl was game for anything.

"I… ummm…" Quil stumbled over words, trying to tell me he needed to go without giving away the secret.

"Quil, if you need to go, go. I'll watch Claire for as long as you need me to," I told him simply.

"Thanks," he said quickly, then raced out the side door next to the table.

Aki left with Quil, probably to see what the problem was. Rika stayed with me and Claire, and laughed as we tried to make the television get more than two stations.

So we waited for our wolf to return home. I guess I was officially a wolf girl now.

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	5. Running Around on the Other Side

**Another chapter! I received five reviews, so I figured you deserved a treat! Since I can't exactly give you cookies (they don't taste the same over the internet), I figured a new chapter would be just as good.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If you're stupid enough to think I do... well, there's nothing you can do about lack of common sense. Just... keep it to yourself.**

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Chapter Five: Moving In

After struggling with the TV for half an hour, I called it quits. I had no idea what I was doing, and Claire was getting impatient. Actually, I had no idea how to deal with Claire, either. I never had any reason to be near anyone younger than me, so I had no idea how to act around them, or how to treat them, or, even worse, how to entertain them.

I sat on the moldy old couch and sighed. It was hopeless.

"Wow, you're really graceful," Claire commented from her seat on the floor next to the ancient TV.

"Thank you," I replied. What was I supposed to do now?

"Tell her a story," Rika suggested. She and Aki had returned, and settled themselves at my feet, next to Claire.

_What story?_ I wanted to ask. But I couldn't, since Claire was right there. It would be awkward if I started talking to thin air in front of her.

I fished around in my brain, but came up blank. I had just realized how dull my childhood was. I decided a slightly-true story would have to do.

"Claire, how about I tell you a story?" I said.

Her response was explosive. "Yay! Story time!" She sat at my feet, her full attention on me.

"Well, a long time ago," I began. All stories began like that, right? "there was a beautiful princess. She lived in a big castle and had servants to take care of her. But her father was a mean king, and he wouldn't let her out of his sight."

I started getting into it now. From the look on Claire's face, she was, too.

"One day, the king allowed the princess to attend a festival in the neighboring town. While she was there, she met a…" What would I make Seth? "…young blacksmith. He was fun, daring, and smart. It was love at first sight."

I paused, remembering the first night together with Seth, and I decided to leave that part out. But I had paused too long for Claire's liking.

"Then what happened?" she demanded.

"Well, after the festival, the princess had to go back to the castle with her father. But she snuck out of her room at night to go see him in the gardens. They saw one another often, almost every night. As the days passed, the princess and the blacksmith grew closer and the king became crueler.

"The princess ran away from the castle to escape her tyrant of a father, and went to find the blacksmith's humble village. She instantly fell in love with it, and decided to stay there with the blacksmith."

When I didn't keep going, Claire demanded, "Well, what happened next?"

"I'll tell you when I find out," I told her honestly.

Her face scrunched into a scowl that could only be called adorable. I pulled her up next to me on the couch and said, "I think Quil's going to be a while. We should both be comfy while we wait."

"Fine," she huffed, and snuggled into my side. Within minutes, she was asleep.

"Well done. You kept a little girl entertained for an hour," Aki said proudly. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"You did wonderful!" Rika sang out. She was far more believable.

"What are the wolves up to?" I asked. Quil had left in quite a hurry, so it must have been important.

"Jacob, the Alpha wolf, called an impromptu meeting," Aki said simply. "Since Sam decided to retire so he could age with his wife, Jake has combined the two packs into one again. He wanted to discuss what your presence would mean."

"They know I'm a shaman?" I asked incredulously.

"No, but with the way you arrived – by telling no one but a single wolf – Jake decided you couldn't have left your home on good terms. He wants to discuss your arrival with the other wolves," Aki said. Jake sounded pretty smart. Or it was pretty obvious. Probably the latter.

"Jake wanted Russ's and Quil's reports, so the pack could assess the situation better," Rika added.

"Should I tell them why I left? Or that I'm a shaman?" I asked.

"Please," Rika snorted, "the last thing you want is the pack to know about your father. They'll never leave it alone. And I would wait to tell them you're a shaman. Let them get to know you as a person first, and when you tell them, all of your strange little quirks and abilities will be explained."

"What strange quirks and abilities?" I asked warily.

"You can talk to spirits through your mind, but that doesn't stop your facial expressions from showing. Plus, a shaman can use their relationships with the spirits to heal. It will be obvious how you're a shaman if you wait to tell them, but if you tell them now, they'll never completely believe you. There will always be a seed of doubt," Rika said.

"Okay," I yawned. I was exhausted. It had been another long day.

"I would suggest you sleep out here," Aki warned. "Both of the beds smell even worse."

I wrinkled my nose, and settled in to sleep.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I felt like I was drifting. It was an odd sensation, so I opened my eyes to make it go away.

It didn't go away. Instead, I was floating above my body like a ghost. I could see myself below me. It looked like I was sleeping.

Before I could start screaming, I noticed Aki and Rika staring at me with wide eyes.

"I told you she was the right one," Rika said triumphantly. "She's been a shaman for less than fourteen hours, and she's already walking in the spirit world!"

"Spirit world?" was all I could choke out.

"Yes," Aki answered. "When a shaman needs power to do a difficult spell or healing, they come into the spirit world to gain direct access to the source of their powers. In the spirit world, you can cause hurricanes, move mountains, drag the souls of evil into the pits of hell, or anything else you wish. Your power is limitless here."

"Oh, wow," I breathed. They hadn't mentioned this earlier.

"Plus," Rika was always trying to look on the bright side of things, "you can travel anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye! You can spy on people, or talk to spirits on the other side of the world, or whatever you need. Isn't that exciting?"

"Yeah," I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, is the pack meeting still going on?"

Rika smiled widely. "It's just about to start."

She took my hand, and suddenly I was flying over the forest. It was the most exhilarating feeling I had ever had in my life, except for anything to do with Seth.

Rika stopped, and we were floating in a clearing filled with wolves the size of horses. I could hear their thoughts like they were speaking them out loud.

"Everyone has just arrived," Rika whispered to me. "It took a while to get all of the wolves together. Jake wanted everyone in on this meeting."

"_Russ, report. What happened when you first had contact with Allison?"_ Jake's voice was strong, the voice of a leader. He was the largest wolf in the clearing, and had a beautiful russet-colored coat.

Russ stepped forward. He was one of the smallest wolves, and had a lovely medium-brown coat with white paws.

"_Last night, Seth's phone was ringing while he was on his last patrol. I answered it, because Seth said Allison had seemed anxious the past couple weeks. When I answered, she sounded really freaked out. She asked if I could find her a place to live here in La Push or in Forks. I knew Old Quil was moving out of his cabin, so I told her I would look into it for her,"_ Russ's voice was steady through the report, but you could sense his anxiety.

"_When I picked her up from the airport, it was clear she had lost a lot of weight since I last saw her. Her face was all gaunt, and she had shadows under her eyes like a vampire. She looked haunted and scared. But as I told her about the cabin I had found for her, she seemed to relax. She loved the place as soon as she saw it. I think she's going to stick around for a while,"_ Russ finished.

"_Quil? What happened when you went to see her?"_ Jake prompted Quil.

"_She was excited. She was making a list of all of the things she would need to fix up the place. She was really grateful when she found out I had brought dinner, but I don't think she has much experience with kids. She didn't quite know what to do with Claire,"_ Quil said.

"_What do you think is going on with her, Jake?"_ an unknown wolf with gray fur asked.

"That's Embry," Rika kindly informed me.

"_I'm not sure,"_ Jake said. _"Seth said she never talks about her family, and she's been scared the past few weeks. Now she shows up unexpectedly. I think something bad must have happened between her and her family. This was a last-minute decision for her, where she didn't have a choice but to get away to a place where she knew someone would be there to help her. I say we call Seth back from his trip early. Hopefully, she'll tell him everything. Everyone, make sure the new addition to the pack feels welcome. We're her family now."_

Jake dismissed the wolves, and the pack dispersed, some headed towards home, some back to patrol.

I took Rika's hand, and I navigated our way back home. I over-shot it by a few miles, but I got it right the second time. Rika laughed, claiming I was a real natural.

Before I settled back into my body, I had a few questions for Aki. He knew it, and floated in front of me.

"So, because Seth imprinted on me, I'm automatically part of the… pack family?" I struggled for an accurate name for the wolves and their soul mates.

"In a way, yes," Aki answered. "They know how hard it has been on Seth to live without his imprint. Jacob is fairly certain you ran away from home because of your family. So, he wants to give you a family here, as a favor to Seth. He knows Seth would do the same for his imprint."

"Will I float out of my body every time I go to sleep?" I switched gears to the shaman powers.

"Only if you wish it, or your spirit guide wishes it. Which I did," Aki said with a hint of a smile on his face. I got the impression that Aki was very proud to be my spirit guide. Maybe I was his first shaman.

"Am I the first shaman with you as my spirit guide?" I was curious.

"Yes, but the High Spirits would not allow me to guide you if I was found incompetent in any way," Aki replied. He floated in front of me, the picture of grace and self-assurance. He must have been a great leader. I swelled with pride at the thought. He was my spirit guide.

"The High Spirits also knew I would always be with Taha Aki, so they knew you would really have two spirit guides," Rika added.

"The two of you seem pretty inseparable," I commented. Seeing the love in their eyes, in was hard not to come to that conclusion.

"That is what the imprint does," Aki said, staring into his wife's eyes. "It lets you find your soul mate, the one who will stand by your side for the rest of eternity."

"No wonder it was so hard to be away from Seth," I murmured.

"We can go see him now, if it would make you feel better," Rika exclaimed.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked. I knew how to get to him, with the whole travelling by spirit world power, but I needed to know where he was first.

"I'll take you!" Rika volunteered, grabbed my hand, and we were flying through the spirit world again.

We came to a stop at a lovely house in Olympia. Rika gently guided me through the wall (it didn't feel that weird; I was just weirded out by being able to walk through walls) and into a quaint little living room. My breath caught when I saw Seth; he looked just as wonderful as I remembered. He was sitting on the floor on top of a sleeping bag, talking to a beautiful girl lying on the couch next to him.

"I can't wait until you meet her, Leah," Seth told the statuesque girl. He had said his sister Leah was pretty, but he never said how beautiful she was. He was her younger brother; he probably didn't even notice how gorgeous she was. Or he was trying not to brag.

"I honestly don't care," she replied in a bored voice. They had had this conversation before.

"You'll like her, Leah. I know you will," Seth said confidently. He was staring at the wall with an odd expression of joy on his face. He was probably remembering our brief time together in Ashland.

"Of course I will," Leah said in a voice that clearly said she wouldn't.

I turned to Aki. "The boy that broke her heart really hurt her, didn't he?"

"Yes," Aki replied, a hard look on his face. "He imprinted on Leah's cousin, a girl who was very close to Leah's heart."

"So it was a double betrayal," I said sadly. "When he walked away from her, her best friend did, too."

"Yes, but the worst part is," Rika added, the same hard look on her face, "he didn't even tell her why. She was left completely in the dark, until she shifted and became a wolf herself. Then she heard every thought in his head, and learned everything. He took more than her life."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"When Sam left Leah for Emily, Leah didn't cling to her heartache. She shoved it aside and hid it with anger. Normally the wolf gene skips the females of the tribe, because they do not feel the intense rage a Quileute male can feel. But Leah's rage triggered the wolf gene in her, and she shifted into the first female wolf. Sam took her heart, and the life she might have had. If he had explained to her why he left, given her any reason, this would not have happened," Rika said angrily.

Aki growled and added, "He called her the same night Leah had introduced Emily to him, and told her that things weren't working out between them, that it wasn't her fault, and he was just moving on."

"What a cruel thing to do," I whispered, looking at Leah's frowning face. What would she look like if she smiled?

"She's so sweet, and kind, and caring," Seth started talking again. "I've been working all year so I can go down to California to see her. She'll be so surprised. I wish I could have been there when she graduated."

"Seth, shut up. I want to go to bed. For once I don't have to baby-sit morons on patrol," Leah snapped.

"Okay," Seth said quietly, defeated. He was working so he could afford to come see me? My heart swelled at the thought.

Just then, a phone started ringing. "It's Russ," Rika told me.

Seth answered, and he groaned when he heard Russ say he had to come home.

"I don't like my aunt's, Russ, but I was enjoying the vacation," Seth moaned. "Why do I have to leave?"

I heard Russ on the other line, speaking as clearly as if he was right next to me. "Quil needs your help with Old Quil's place. We need to move the furniture out and burn it. It smells _awful_. No one will rent the place when it smells like that."

"No one's going to rent it anyway!" Seth argued. "No one in La Push needs a cabin way out on the outskirts, and no one wants to move to La Push anytime soon."

"That's where you're wrong," Russ laughed. "Someone's already taken the place. But they need to move in soon, so we need to get this done tomorrow."

"Why can't any of the other wolves help out?" Seth asked critically.

"They're all busy. Plus, we need you, Seth. Trust me, this time tomorrow, you'll be glad you did," Russ kept laughing. He was good at coming up with stories for lies, but was awful when it came to the delivery.

"I never said I was going," Seth reminded him.

"It doesn't matter. Alpha's orders."

Seth groaned again. "What happened to the Jake who hated to give orders of any kind?"

"Gone," Russ replied simply. "See you tomorrow at my house, nine o'clock!"

With that, Russ hung up, and Seth reported the bad news to his sister. To which she replied, "That order's for you, not me. Suck it up and deal with it."

Rika took my hand, and led me back to my new home. "See, you get to see Seth tomorrow! Everything always works out."

"I guess so," I said quietly, then sank back into my body for some dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Thanks everyone! Please review! This chapter is proof that I update when I get lots of reviews!**


	6. Reunions and Parking Lot Brawls

**Thank you all for reading! And an extra thanks to those who reviewed! Now, the end of the chapter here is crap, and totally random and unexpected. I hated writing it, but there was no other idea to replace it. Just bear with me, and everything else I have written has my complete confidence!**

Chapter Six: Reunion

I woke the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Hard.

I got up slowly, careful of Claire, who had cuddled up against me during the night. It felt odd to have a physical body again.

"It's Quil," Aki informed me. "He's worried about Claire."

_Of course he is,_ I told Aki silently. He nodded to show me that he heard.

I opened the door to see a very upset Quil standing on the porch. "Good morning, Quil. Are you okay?" I asked carefully.

"Fine. How's Claire?" He looked around me into the house, trying to see the little girl who held his heart.

"Asleep on the couch. I entertained her with a story last night, and we both passed out. It was a long day," I said. He didn't even know how long yesterday was.

"Good," he sighed in relief as I let him in. "Russ is dragging Seth here at about nine-thirty. He thinks he's just helping us move the furniture. I can't wait to see his face when he sees you."

"Neither can I," I said honestly.

* * *

Seth's POV

To say I was upset was an understatement. I was sitting in Russ's cramped little Toyota Tacoma, going to Old Quil's new rental house to help someone move in, instead of visiting my family. I hadn't seen my aunt in years, and I was genuinely happy getting to know her again.

But Jake called me in last night, so I had to run all night and most of the morning to get here. To help move furniture. I kept trying to see the bright side in this, but I simply couldn't. Allison hadn't answered her phone last night. She always answers. When I called her this morning, there was still no answer. I couldn't even run to her house to check on her, like the other wolves.

Russ kept trying to cheer me up, but his tactics were failing miserably.

"I met the girl yesterday," he was saying. "She's super cute. Actually, she looks a lot like Allison."

That shook me out of my pity-party. "But she's not Allison. No one can be her replacement," I said sharply. He should know this. He hadn't imprinted, but he saw what it was like through the mind-link.

"Look, just try to behave today. The poor girl isn't used to moody teenage wolves," Russ tried to joke. It wasn't working.

So I sat in the passenger seat, thinking about Allison and the too-short time we had been together in Ashland. Thinking about those precious days always cheered me up. It wasn't working today, because Allison hadn't answered her phone. I was beyond worried at this point.

When we pulled up to Old Quil's old cabin, Quil's beat-up SUV was already in front of the tiny house. The wrap-around porch was tidy, and the garden was still dead. Old Quil had tried gardening for two weeks before giving up completely.

Quil burst out of the front door, the picture of excited anticipation. I looked at Russ. He was better at hiding it, but not by much. They were up to something.

Russ and I climbed out of the truck as Quil approached slowly and steadily.

"Seth, do we have one hell of a surprise for you!" Quil crowed.

"What did you do?" I asked, horrified at the possibilities running through my head.

"They didn't do anything," the most beautiful voice soared from the front door. Allison, my Allison, stood in front of the door, a grin on her face. "Well, they helped, but they didn't do anything I didn't ask them to do."

I was speechless. She was here, in front of me, looking into my eyes with her brilliant green orbs. She was more beautiful than I remembered. How long was she here for?

She walked down the steps, her hips swaying slightly the way they always did when she walked. Her face was glowing with joy, and her hair was just as tangled as the last time I saw her. God, I had missed her.

"You have excellent timing," she commented as she approached me. "I just signed the rental agreement."

"Rental agreement?" What was she talking about?

"Seth, she's renting the cabin," Quil interrupted. I didn't want to hear Quil's voice. I wanted Allison's. Only Allison.

Wait… Allison is renting the cabin? "For how long?" I managed to choke out.

"For as long as Old Quil is willing to rent it to me," Allison answered me, her grin still firmly in place. "I'm living in La Push now."

"You're living here?" I repeated stupidly. She's living here? Staying here? For good? Where I can always be with her, and she'll never leave, and I'll always protect her?

If it was possible to explode from happiness, everyone would be covered in tiny pieces of me right now. Awkward thought…

"You're staying? For good?" I had to be certain.

She laughed, and it sounded like angels singing. "Of course I'm staying! I love this place; you couldn't make me leave if you tried!"

I pulled her into my arms. She hugged me right back and whispered, "I missed you, too. I'm staying, and I'm never leaving you again."

I hugged her tighter, and the world could have exploded right then and there because I wouldn't have noticed. Allison was in La Push, and she was staying. She was staying with me.

"Why don't we show Allison First Beach, Seth?" Quil interrupted. "Claire wanted to go, and she wanted me to bring Allison. Something about finishing a story?"

Allison blinked. "Right, I promised Claire I would tell her the rest of the story. Can we go?"

Was she actually asking me? If she wanted to, I was game for anything. "Of course!"

So we piled into the Tacoma, and headed for First Beach. If I had known what would happen that day, I would've locked Allison in her cabin and never let her out.

* * *

Allison's POV

I was ecstatic as we headed for the beach. It was a little chilly, but I would be fine cuddled up next to Seth. Now I knew why the wolves ran hotter temperatures. All of the girls in La Push would cling to them for warmth.

I told Seth about my plans to go back to Seattle in a week for some shopping. None of the boys were surprised when I told them all of the furniture reeked to high heaven. They were surprised when I told them I was keeping the old table set in the dining room.

"Old Quil built that set years ago," Quil had told me. "It hasn't moved from the house since."

Aki and Rika confirmed this, saying it took Old Quil three months to finish the set for his wife as a wedding present. After hearing that, I couldn't have thrown the set away if I tried.

Seth told me his mother and sister were returning to La Push tomorrow. I was a little nervous, but thanks to my father's training, I knew how to make a good first impression. This was the only time I had ever been grateful for that finishing school for socialites.

When we pulled up to the beach, I couldn't help but stare. The beach was stunning. I couldn't stare long, because as soon as I hopped out of the truck, Claire ambushed me. She clung to my leg and insisted on hearing the rest of the story. Quil looked a little hurt that she had come to me first, but she gave him a quick hug after I promised that I would tell the rest of the story. He was fine after that.

Claire and I settled on beach towels, and Russ and Quil dragged Seth into the waves. I felt sorry for him. It must be freezing.

"Don't worry about them," Rika scoffed. "They run at such a hot temperature, they barely even notice snow storms, let alone ice-cold oceans."

When Claire sat across from me and stared intently, I worked my brain for what could happen in the story next. I figured what could happen in real life worked for the rest of the story, too.

"So, where did we leave off?" I asked Claire.

"The princess fell in love with the blacksmith's village, and she decided to stay there," Claire answered immediately. I didn't know she had paid such close attention.

"Well, the princess settled in, and the village welcomed her with open arms. She loved being able to do things for herself, and working to take care of the rest of the villagers. Weeks passed, and the blacksmith asked her to marry him. She said yes immediately."

Claire squealed at that, so I figured I was on the right track.

"Arrangements for a small wedding were made. A week before the wedding, though, visitors came for the princess. They were two of her father's knights, ordered to bring her back to the castle. Her father had arranged a marriage for her to a prince from a neighboring land. When she was told which prince, she ordered the knights to leave. Her father had chosen Prince Patrick for her, a man who was even crueler than her father."

I wrinkled my nose. Patrick was the name of the man my father wanted me to marry. He was the son of an influential family in California, and my father wanted that social connection. But Patrick was a cruel, unfeeling ass that I refused to spend five minutes with, let alone the rest of my life.

I sighed and continued.

"Two days later, the king and Prince Patrick came to the humble village with the knights, to tell the princess in person that she had to leave and marry the prince. When she refused again, the king ordered the knights to tie her up and bring her with them. The villagers sent for the blacksmith, who was away in the forge, and prepared to fight to keep her with them. The blacksmith arrived, and saw the potentially explosive situation."

I paused for breath. Claire wasn't having any of that. "What happened next? What did the blacksmith do? Don't tell me you'll tell me later!"

"I wasn't going to. I just needed to pause for a second." That girl was beyond impatient. Good luck with that, Quil.

"Moving on…" I muttered under my breath, "the blacksmith challenged the prince to a duel for the princess's hand in marriage. That way, none of the villagers would get hurt, and whoever won wouldn't have to worry about the other man coming to kidnap the princess from them."

"Yay!" Claire called out happily. "The blacksmith is going to kick the prince's butt!"

"Let me finish the story, or you'll never know how it ends," I told her teasingly. Her eyes went wide and she didn't say another word.

"The prince was confident he could win. He had trained for years, and he was skilled with a sword. The blacksmith had something far more important than skill, though. He had love. The prince was fighting to gain control of the princess, and the blacksmith was fighting so she could be happy," I leaned in towards Claire. "Love is far more powerful than anything else in the universe."

I sat back up and stared at Seth trying to drown Russ, a huge, ridiculous smile on my face. "And because love is more powerful, the blacksmith defeated the prince with ease. The king and Prince Patrick walked away angrily, and the villagers cheered. The wedding was celebrated a week later, and the princess and the blacksmith were married in front of the whole village. Then they lived happily ever after."

"That story was awesome!" Claire shouted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the boys watching us with big smiles on their faces.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Seth is trying to sneak up on you so he can scare you," Aki warned me.

Suddenly, warm arms were wrapped around me. "Hey, babe," Seth whispered into my ear.

Since I had been expecting it, I didn't jump at the sound. I just whispered back, "If you were anyone else, you wouldn't have important body parts right now."

Seth laughed loudly. Russ and Quil walked up to us, with big grins on their faces.

"They heard," Rika said obviously.

Quil's grin vanished as he looked around. "Claire?" he called out.

I looked around quickly, and didn't see the adorable little girl anywhere.

The four of us spread out quickly, calling her name. I had taken my eyes off her for thirty seconds! What kid could run away and disappear that quickly?

"It doesn't take long for a child to wander off," Aki said sadly.

_Stop talking and help me find her,_ I scolded him mentally.

"I've already sent the spirits dwelling on the beach out through the entire reservation. When they find her, they'll let us know," Aki told me. Being a shaman was going to come in handy a lot.

"Lady Shaman!" A spirit of a man flew up to me. "I've found her, down by the convenience store. It's not far."

I ran, too worked up to say anything. I would thank the spirit later. Aki and Rika showed me the way, and I ran faster than the wind. It felt like concentrated bursts of air were hitting my feet, accelerating me beyond human speed.

I was at the convenience store, and I didn't see her. _Where is she?_ I asked the spirits around me frantically.

"This way, hurry!" Rika sounded terrified, motioning me towards the parking lot off to the side. Claire was standing next to beat-up gray van, and a man was talking to her. Considering what he looked like, I would have run for miles if he tried to approach me.

"Claire, there you are!" I called out, so relieved.

"Who are you?" the creepy-looking man demanded. He looked like he was in his late forties, with thin, graying red hair and beady little eyes.

"I'm Claire's baby-sitter. Who are you?" I shot back.

"Get her away from him, Allison! He wants to hurt her," Rika begged me. That was all I needed to hear.

"Claire, come here," I tried to make my voice sound authoritative. She started walking towards me, but the man grabbed her arm.

"Claire, I thought you were going to come see my puppy," he said in a sad voice. His acting was terrible. I walked towards them, slowly and carefully.

"Claire, you already have a puppy. Quil's looking for you," I told her firmly. When I mentioned Quil, she began to struggle with the man's grip on her arm.

"Sorry, but I need to go find Quil now. He'll be mad if I make him wait too long," Claire said. She continued to struggle, but he wouldn't let go.

Panic started to take over, and I rushed towards them. I grabbed the man's arm that was holding Claire, and started to twist it. He growled, and a knife was suddenly in his free hand.

I don't know how, but I shoved my left wrist on to the knife, up to the hilt. The man was so shocked, his grip on Claire's arm loosened, and I pulled her away with my right hand. I then proceeded to kick the creep in the stomach, then the balls, and when he fell to the ground in pain, proceeded to kick him some more.

When I was certain he wasn't getting back up anytime soon, I pulled Claire away towards the store's front door. I couldn't feel my arm, and for that, I was grateful. I was also grateful Claire was still with me.

"We're blocking the pain from your arm, so you can still function without risking going into shock," Aki said sharply. He wasn't trying to be mean, he was just worried. "Seth, Quil, Russ, Embry, and Collin are less than a minute away."

_Thanks,_ I told Aki. I sat down, feeling a little light-headed. Probably from the loss of blood.

Claire decided to notice this now, and started screaming, "YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

"I did notice, Claire," I told her calmly. The boys had started running after hearing Claire's exclamation, and were now in sight. Quil was ahead by far, a look of sheer relief on his face at the sight of Claire unharmed.

"Claire! What were you thinking? I was so worried about you! Don't you ever do that again!" he took her in his arms and continued to scold her.

Seth's feeling differed from Quil's.

"What the hell happened?" Seth gasped as he saw my arm. The knife was still in there, stuck to the hilt between the two arm bones, the humerus and radius. I think that's what they're called, at least.

"Oh, some creepy guy was trying to get Claire to go with him, so I stopped him. He didn't like that, so he tried to stab me. He's still moaning in pain in the parking lot," I said matter-of-factly. "I should probably go to the hospital now, shouldn't I?"

Seth was speechless. The other boys didn't have that problem, and headed towards the parking lot.

Seth quickly regained his voice. He had a strange look on his face when he said, "No, I'm taking you to the Cullen's."

"Why the Cullen's?" I asked curiously. I knew they were vegetarian vampires. Seth didn't know I knew, but I knew. What could they do to help?

"Because Carlisle is the best doctor I know, and he's home right now," Seth said. His voice was strained. I think he was trying to not yell at me.

"Come on," he helped me up and led me to Russ's truck.

"Russ, I'm jacking your truck!" he called towards the direction of the parking lot. He helped me in like a gentleman.

He climbed into the driver's seat, and we started out. He had a strange look on his face the whole time, like he was concentrating on something important.

Thanks to the spirits, I couldn't feel even the slightest twinge of pain. Aki and Rika flew beside the truck. We had a supernatural escort. When I giggled at that, Seth's brow furrowed.

"Sorry, I just remembered something funny," I explained.

He didn't say a word. He just kept driving with a strained face.

* * *

**Sorry about that. But I wanted to show that Allison is willing to do anything to protect the people she now considers her family, and to show her maternal side. Plus, the spirits kind of helped her do everything, and everyone wants to see more of the spirit world. Everything I know about shamans I learned in an Anthropology class. I'll be using the customs and ways of many different cultures, so when you see something that isn't Quileute, please bear with me. Next chapter, we confuse the hell out of the Cullens! Please review! This time I really need the feedback.**


	7. Confusing the Cullens

**Hey everyone! I was out camping, but I'm back now! Thanks to everyone who reads this random story! I got six reviews for the last chapter! Let's keep this trend going, please, because I'll update before I was planning if people review. On to confusing the Cullens, because somenone needs to put Edward in his place!**

Seth's POV

I was pissed. No, I was beyond pissed. I was infuriated. How dare she put her life in danger? Why couldn't she just wait for us? We were less than two blocks away! And now she has a knife in her arm. Literally!

The whole way there, I kept thinking, _Edward, Allison is hurt and bleeding. Please clear the house of vampires so Carlisle can fix her. I know he's home because the sun is out. Please ask him to take care of her._

I kept thinking that over and over until we reached the huge white mansion. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Allison's eyebrows twitch down for a second. She didn't like this place. I briefly wondered why. Then I remembered why we were here, and I couldn't think about anything else.

I helped her out of the truck. She didn't say a word. She looked like she was listening to something, but there was nothing to hear. I would know. My hearing was much better than hers.

She stayed at my side as we walked up the steps. She didn't look upset. She didn't look like she was in pain. But looks can be deceiving, and there is no way she's not feeling a six-inch switchblade stabbed through her arm up to the hilt.

Carlisle answered the door, a warm, welcoming smile on his face. Then he pretended to catch sight of Allison's wound, and the smile disappeared.

"You could have called to warn me, Seth," he scolded. He didn't mean it, of course. He was saying it for Allison's sake.

"I told you, Seth," she said, no emotion in her voice.

"No you didn't," I said back. She hadn't said anything the whole way here.

"Yes, I did. You just weren't paying attention."

That stung. I always paid attention to her. She was my freaking soul mate!

"Enough. Please, come in, Allison. Let's take care of that arm," Carlisle said softly. Allison followed him quietly.

Once we were settled in Carlisle's office, Carlisle asked a question that seemed very obvious.

"Why didn't either of you take the knife out?" he asked.

"It wasn't hurting, and I wasn't in the mood to change that," Allison replied simply.

"It doesn't hurt? Not at all?" Carlisle asked, surprised.

"Not in the slightest."

I didn't believe that for a minute. But she had been pretty quiet…

"We'll check for nerve damage once we get the knife out," Carlisle said. He still looked confused. I didn't blame him one bit.

When Carlisle carefully pulled the knife out, she didn't make a sound. She didn't move, scream, or twitch an eyebrow. It's like the knife didn't even exist to her. Carlisle still looked confused.

He examined her arm three times, but couldn't find any nerve damage.

"It's a clean wound, and it will heal quickly," Carlisle told her after he had stitched her up. I was relieved. I couldn't tell what she was feeling.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," she replied softly.

"Please, call me Carlisle," Carlisle asked her.

"Alright, Carlisle," she responded. She had a small smile on her face now.

"These are some pain pills," Carlisle handed her a small prescription bottle. "If any pain comes, just follow the directions."

"Thanks, Carlisle," she said again. Her smile got wider.

Carlisle walked us to the front door. Before he could open it, though, Alice, Bella, and Edward walked in. Bella looked relieved, Edward looked confused, and Alice looked terrifyingly happy. I resigned myself to disaster.

"Hi, you must be Allison!" Alice cried out happily.

"I am," Allison replied calmly. "Are you Alice?"

I had told her about the Cullens. She must have remembered them from one of those long conversations in the middle of the night we used to have when she lived in California.

"I am! And this is Edward and Bella," Alice waved towards the happy couple.

"Hello," Allison said courteously.

"Hi," Bella said.

"Run," Edward warned. Why should my imprint be running?

"Why am I supposed to be running?" Allison asked curiously.

"Because Alice wants you to be her new life-sized Barbie doll," Edward explained.

"Oh," Allison replied, taken aback. "I don't have a problem with that as long as I have a say in the clothes and I get to dress her up, too."

Alice squealed in delight. "We're going to have so much fun!" she sang out. But when Alice tried to drag her upstairs, Allison, somehow, stopped her.

"Actually, Alice, I need to get home now. But, if you don't mind shopping for furniture and home décor, I'm going to Seattle in six days, and I wouldn't mind a shopping buddy," Allison told Alice gently.

Alice's face lit up. I had never seen her so excited. "Even better! I'll pick you up at seven o'clock sharp Friday morning, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Allison said. With that, I pretty much dragged her out of the house and gently shoved her in the passenger's seat of the truck.

"They were really nice," Allison commented as soon as I started up the truck.

I decided it was only fair to warn her about what she had gotten herself into. "Allison, I'm letting you know now. Alice is crazy when it comes to shopping. She's a psycho Tinkerbell."

"Good," was Allison's strange response. "I need a shopping fairy. I'm terrible at it."

I decided that I would let her do what she wanted, and be there to comfort her when she came home, completely exhausted from trying to keep up with a vampire pixie.

By the time I got her home, it was seven o'clock. She told me to go let the guys know she was alright, and to go get some sleep.

"You've been kind of cranky for the past few hours," she said. Instead of raging at her about what _she_ had done that day, I wished her a good night, took Russ's truck back to its rightful owner, then shifted and ran straight for the Cullen house.

When I arrived, I pulled my pants back on and walked inside. Not only were all of the Cullens there, but so were Jake, Quil, Embry, and Leah. Renesmee was there too, sitting between Bella and Jake.

"We're all here, so let's get started with what we found out," Carlisle announced. "From what Allison said, she felt absolutely no pain from the knife. Edward, was she really painless, or very good at lying?"

"I have no idea," Edward muttered, looking frustrated.

"What?" I asked incredulously. "You're a mind reader!"

"I couldn't hear her thoughts," Edward clarified.

"Can she block you like Bella can?" Esme asked cautiously.

"I wish," Edward muttered again. Then he said, louder, "When she's around, I can't hear her thoughts because it seems like a thousand voices are drowning her thoughts out. All I can hear is them screaming at me to leave her alone, that they don't trust me, and her thoughts are private. Plus other rude things I won't repeat."

"How strange," Carlisle said. "She's immune to pain, since I don't think she could have hidden that kind of pain from a vampire doctor, and she has thousands of voices blocking her thoughts."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"There is nothing we can do about her strange abilities," Carlisle said firmly. "We'll have to wait and see. Alice, are you still going shopping with her on Friday? Hopefully, you can get more information then."

"Hell yes! She actually likes shopping, unlike someone," Alice glared at Bella, who just shrugged her shoulders. Poor Bella. How many shopping trips did she have to deal with on a monthly basis?

"Wait, Alice! Can you see her future?" Jake asked quickly.

Alice paused, and had a blank look on her face for a few minutes. It felt like hours. What was she seeing? Was my Allison alright?

"It's so strange," Alice whispered. "It's like flashes of images come to me, but nothing truly distinguishable. Oh! I do convince her to do a little clothes shopping with me, though. She has excellent taste."

"Great," Jake muttered. "But I need to tell everyone something else. We figured a few things out during last night's pack meeting, and I figured we should let you know what we came up with."

"For once, you're actually quite perceptive," Edward commented. I guess he read Jake's mind. I wondered what they came up with last night after meeting her.

"We're pretty sure she ran away from home," Jake said. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating. Ran away?

"Everything worked out well, but nothing was really planned. She didn't have a lot of stuff with her, just a suitcase and two huge duffel bags. Russ said that she had lost some weight since he had seen her last September," Jake told everyone. "Seth said that she never talks about her family. So I figured her family did something to make her want to leave immediately. She came to La Push because Seth is here."

"Like I said, perceptive," Edward smiled. He and Jake had been getting along lately. I figured that would change when Nessie finished growing up. A glare from Edward confirmed it.

"I wish Edward could read her mind so we could know what happened to her," Esme said sadly. "Seth, please let her know she's welcome here any time."

"Sure, Esme," I said happily. The Cullens could show her that not all family is bad.

"Finally, I can have a friend who's in on the secret!" Nessie rejoiced.

"We'll see you guys later," Jake waved as the wolves started heading out. I got up to follow after saying goodbye.

"I'm going for a run," Leah announced as soon as we got outside. "Seth, go tell Mom her future daughter-in-law is here. She'll kill you if you don't tell her as soon as possible."

Mom would be pretty scary if she found out Allison was here before I could tell her. "Thanks, Leah."

She didn't respond, and walked into the woods.

Jake patted me on the arm and said, "Go tell your mom, Seth. She'll make us suffer, too."

"Thanks, Jake. For everything," I said. I was beyond grateful for everything everyone was doing to make sure Allison stayed.

We shifted, and ran for home.

Allison's POV

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I was in the spirit world, wandering around with Aki and Rika after the meeting at the Cullen house. No one had known I was floating in the middle of the room, listening to everything. It was amazing.

I felt bad about eavesdropping, but that's what they get for talking behind my back. The spirits would have told me everything they said anyways.

I had been shocked at how many spirits were dwelling in the Cullen mansion. Apparently, nothing gets the spirits more worked up than a good love story. They were obsessed with Edward and Bella. I wonder if they knew they had such a supernatural following. Or if they knew Bella had survived her pregnancy with Nessie because the spirits loved them so much.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked no one in particular.

Rika didn't get that it was a rhetorical question. "Well, Seth is going to tell his mom that you left your horrible family to come live near him, and Alice is going to bombard you with questions when you two go shopping on Friday."

"She didn't expect an answer, love," Aki told her quietly.

"Oh," Rika said, surprised. "Humans are so strange."

"Why don't we go see Seth tell his mother you're here?" Juliet asked. She was a spirit who had fallen head over heels for Edward when he went to Volterra to die. She had thought he was very romantic, then found out Bella wasn't dead. She had been the one to delay Edward from provoking the Volturi too soon.

"That's a great idea!" Rika exclaimed. So I went to Seth's house, escorted by fifty or so different ghosts.

His mother was a beautiful woman, with the typical coloring of her tribe. She was finishing the dishes when Seth walked in and said, "Mom! Allison moved here! Don't kill me or smother her!"

Sue, apparently being a typical mother, screamed out loud, dropped everything, and hugged her son. More like tackled, but details.

"Finally! My daughter-in-law is here!" she sang out.

"Mom, chill!" Seth's voice was muffled from being pressed against his mother's shoulder. "She doesn't know about the imprint! Don't freak her out!"

I started laughing, as did the other spirits. I already knew more about the imprint than he did. Plus, I don't think I could get freaked out anymore. Waking up in a Las Vegas hotel room, being strangled by a thousand-year-old Indian chief does that to you.

"Ha ha, get him, Sue!" the spirit who had found Claire earlier today was floating next to me. "Boy should've run like hell as soon as he told her."

I giggled. "Self-preservation will make him learn eventually," I commented.

"True," he laughed.

"Thank you for finding Claire earlier," I said softly, after finishing my laughing fit.

"No problem. Even in the afterlife, we take care of our own. Which includes you now, too," he shrugged. "I'm Harry, by the way."

My eyes went wide. "Seth's dad?"

"Of course," he said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't watch my kids grow up. By the way, I want three grandkids."

"What?" I shrieked, completely embarrassed. Seth and I hadn't even slept in the same bed yet!

"Hey, I'm going easy on you. Sue wants at least six," he said.

"Six?" I repeated.

"Yeah," he said, carefree as could be. "You know, I'm glad her and Charlie have gotten together."

That was random. "Really?"

"Of course," he said, much more sober now. "I was always telling Charlie to get over Renee. I didn't think it would be with my wife, but at least he waited until I was dead to get feelings for her."

He stared at Sue longingly. "I just want her to be happy. When she's with Charlie, she's happy."

"What's going to happen when they die, and you're waiting for them?" Juliet asked, curious.

Harry and I looked at one another. "That's going to be awkward," I said carefully.

"Eh, I'll deal with it when it happens," Harry said simply. That must be where Seth got his happy-go-lucky attitude from.

"It's getting late," Aki reminded me. "We have to start actually cleaning the cabin for you tomorrow."

"What do you mean, 'we'? Me and the wolves are going to be doing all the work!" I shouted.

"We'll help," Rika said.

"How?" I asked incredulously. They explained to me how on the way back to my new home.

Harry stayed at his old home, watching his wife and son talk about his future daughter-in-law.

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**Ooooh, I slipped some more ghosts in there! Tell me if Juliet should make more appearances. I have a whole backstory for her, but I want to know what you guys think! Review, please!**


	8. Shopping with a Psycho Vampire

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**Welcome to chapter eight! I'm a little disappointed that I only got two reviews for the last chapter. To thank one of them, we'll be seeing a lot more of Juliet in this chapter. By the way, Eclipse was amazing! But Seth only had about two lines... Sad face...**

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Allison's POV

After my visit with the Cullens, my life became nothing but cleaning. My little cabin hadn't had a proper cleaning in years, and I was accustomed to clean. I had never really cleaned anything in my life before, and it was actually a lot of fun. I just read the instructions on the labels of the supplies. I had brooms, dusters, Comet, Windex, and everything else the woman at the Forks market had told me I would need.

Most people would probably consider me insane for enjoying cleaning. It probably isn't natural. Lily and all of my other friends had complained about having to clean their rooms or do their chores. Everyone considered this hard work and avoided it at all costs. Quil said there was something wrong with me.

But the truth was I loved cleaning. I loved making my little cabin a little nicer each day. I loved making it into my new home.

Quil and Claire dropped by every day to keep me company and to try out my experiments. I had bought food at the market when I picked up the cleaning supplies. The second time Quil and Claire came by, Emily had given them recipes to give to me. She said that they were all easy, and it would make enough to fill the boys' appetites. So now I was learning how to cook.

I burned the first casserole I had tried to make, but Quil had eaten the whole thing with gusto. I think he was trying to make me feel better. I had almost burst into tears when I realized I had done it wrong.

According to Claire, I was getting much better, though.

Seth came by every day, too. But he was here to see me, despite his devouring my food as well. He learned quickly that when I was cleaning, he was supposed to leave me alone. Apparently, I have a temper when I'm interrupted from cleaning. I don't, he just surprised me when he came up behind me to give me a hug. It was his fault he got hit with the broom. Aki and Rika had laughed for a long time after that incident.

I set the alarm clock on my new phone for six o'clock in the morning Thursday night. My cabin was squeaky clean, and now I needed to get furniture and decorate it. According to all of the ghosts, Alice was the Queen of Shopping. If anyone could help me make the home I wanted, it would be her.

I made sure to wear comfortable clothes, and especially comfortable shoes. From what the spirits were telling me, this was going to be a rough shopping trip.

Alice arrived at seven AM sharp in a cute little yellow sports car. At first I thought, _Wait, how am I going to fit all of my stuff into that tiny trunk?_ But then I realized I would have to ship everything here. How would I fit a couch or a bed into _any_ car?

I grabbed my purse, with my new bank card from the new bank account with my "borrowed" money in it, and headed outside. The ceaseless clouds of Washington hung heavy in the sky, but Aki and Rika assured me it wasn't going to rain.

I greeted Alice happily as I settled myself in the car. I was practically bouncing from excitement.

"Are you ready for some hard-core shopping?" Alice asked, a fierce, slightly-frightening gleam in her eyes.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," I replied excitedly.

"Finally, someone who likes to shop," Alice said as she drove off. "Rosalie is a decent shopping partner, Esme is alright, and Bella is downright awful. But we're going to be good shopping partners, I can tell."

"Good," I laughed in reply. "Because I have no idea what I'm doing. I know what I want my house to look like when we're finished, I just don't know how to accomplish it."

"Alright, first tell me what you want the front room to look like," Alice suggested.

"Well, I want something welcoming, and serene. I was thinking blues and greens for the colors, with a few…"

We talked about what I wanted for my house the whole way to Seattle. We arrived within a few hours, leaving me wondering how fast we had been going.

The strip mall Alice chose was huge and very upscale. Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and many other brand names seemed to be the majority of the products available.

"Alright, which room should we focus on first?" Alice asked me. I knew this was going to be the only time I would get to pick anything without her approval.

"How about the kitchen?" I suggested. Considering the way the wolves ate, I would be cooking a lot.

"Sounds good," Alice said cheerily.

When we got to a store that looked like it had everything I could need in the kitchen and more, we looked around and realized we had no idea what we were doing.

"Where should we start?" I asked nervously, looking at a display for ovens.

"Like I know," Alice scoffed.

"She's a vampire, Allison," Aki pointed out. "She hasn't eaten food in eight decades."

I silently cursed myself. It was so obvious. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier?

"When in doubt, ask the professionals," Alice said, and walked towards the service kiosk.

We gave the middle-aged woman behind the desk a big smile.

"Hello," I made sure to keep my voice happy, with a hint of desperation. "I just moved out of my parents' house, and I need help getting everything I'm going to need for my new place."

"To be perfectly honest, neither of us has a clue what we're doing," Alice added.

A warm smile grew on the woman's face as she said, "Don't worry. I'll help you with everything you need."

And she did indeed. The next four hours was a whirlwind of pots, pans, ovens, microwaves, wooden spoons, dishes, and everything else I would need in the kitchen. When we were done (to be accurate, when Alice was done), I insisted on getting lunch before we continued. According to the kind woman, the kitchen was the worst of home shopping because it needed the most stuff. I was happy to have it done.

Alice chose a cute little bistro for lunch. We had talked about my house and the needed furnishings the whole trip, so I wasn't surprised when she changed the subject after we ordered.

"Why did you decide to move to La Push?" she asked curiously. She sounded innocent enough, but I knew she was going to remember every word and report back to the wolves and the Cullens.

"To be honest, I wasn't happy in Sacramento," I replied. I wouldn't lie; I would just leave out some of the important details. "My family wasn't very nice, and I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with my life. When I met Seth, I felt this… connection with him that I had never felt before. I knew where I belonged. So I saved up some money, and moved here as soon as I turned eighteen."

"I know what that's like," Alice said somberly. "I don't remember my family much, but I know they were awful. Then I found Jasper, and I knew where I belonged. We met the Cullens soon after that, and I've never looked back."

We moved on to lighter subjects after that. While we ate, I noticed her slipping her food into her purse. If I hadn't been looking for where she was hiding her food, I wouldn't have noticed. She was a vampire; she couldn't eat human food, Aki told me.

After lunch, we went back to shopping. The kind woman from the kitchen store had been right; the kitchen was the hardest. We focused on the living room first, then the master bedroom, and then the spare bedroom.

It was a wild afternoon, but we got everything done. The only thing wilder was Alice's face when I told her the only room left was the hallway.

"That's it?" she gasped incredulously. "Your house is even smaller than Edward's and Bella's!"

"It's just me living there," I assured her. "I don't need a lot of room. I love my cabin."

We bought a few decorations for the hallway, and this cute, rustic end table that could go at the end of the hallway with a mirror above it. "To give the illusion of more room," Alice had snapped, clearly still annoyed at the size of my house.

At four o'clock, I had everything I would need for my new home. Alice had been the perfect person to bring with me. She listened to what I wanted and knew my vision for everything.

"We finished earlier than I thought we would," I said as I finished the paper work in front of me. I was filling out the things the delivery trucks needed, as well as paying for everything. Alice had worked her magic and somehow got everything on Express. My things would arrive at my humble abode tomorrow night.

A cute pair of jeans in the window of a near-by store caught my eye. This was probably a bad idea, but I wanted to.

"Hey, Alice, since we finished all of the house shopping early, why don't we do a little clothes shopping? I had to leave behind a lot of my wardrobe, so I could use a few new clothes," I said nonchalantly.

Alice perked up immediately. "Let's go! Those boot cut Guess jeans in the window there will look fabulous on you!"

We spent the next two hours clothes shopping. Somehow I ended up with six pairs of jeans, five skirts, twelve different tops, three dresses, four coats, and seventeen pairs of shoes. Alice had excellent taste, and she knew exactly what would look good on me. Of course, she could look into the future to see what would, but that was an insignificant detail.

I felt beautiful in the clothes Alice picked out for me. She took my personal style into account, and made me feel fantastic. I couldn't wait to show Seth all of my new things, especially the clothes. He would appreciate the freedom I felt wearing them. He would see my new confidence.

At six o'clock, we decided to head home. Alice was shocked that I was able to keep up with her the whole day.

"We gave you some extra energy," Aki told me after Alice had told me her thoughts about my stamina. "It's more subtle, but a perk nonetheless."

"Oh my God! That red dress looked so amazing on you!" Juliet couldn't stop talking about it. "I can't wait to see Seth's face when he sees you in it! I would look better in it if I was still alive, but it still looks great on you!"

Juliet was a little self-centered, but I didn't let it bother me. After all, being spoiled rotten by her parents was kind of what got her killed.

Her parents had been nobles in the early fifteenth century Italy. They had had a lot of power, due to their offerings to the Volturi, the vampire royalty. When Juliet fell in love with a boy who worked in her family's stables, her father had taken the two of them to the Volturi. He was ashamed and insulted by her, so he gave his own daughter over to the monsters.

Juliet had haunted the Volturi castle ever since, making life miserable for them. When she saw Edward come to the Volturi to die, she saw a man like her lost stable boy and tried desperately to save him. When she heard his love was still alive from other spirits, she made sure Bella found him, and were able to leave the city together.

Alice looked a little surprised when I told her I had to make one more stop. I told her where to go, and she drove us there without a word.

"She knows the lawyer who got you these papers," Rika told me. "Apparently, the Cullens use Jenks, too."

_I can see why the Cullens would need papers,_ I replied silently.

I walked up to the house, and a large man stepped out as soon as I set foot on the porch. He would have frightened me if I didn't know I had spirits and a vampire who would rescue me. He handed me a large, manila envelope, and I walked back to the car. Alice never said a thing, and drove us home.

When we arrived in La Push, Alice told me she would bring a carpenter over to make sure everything looked alright before my furnishings arrived. I told her the cabinets in the kitchen could use some work, and the moldings should be fixed before we painted them. Alice assured me that she had everything taken care of.

Since she could see what my house was going to need before she even stepped inside, I believed her.

It was nine-thirty when I walked through my front door. My home smelled like cleaning products. That would fade eventually.

I collapsed onto the floor. I was exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhausted. I knew I had accomplished a lot today. I couldn't wait to get my new furniture. I was tired of sleeping on the floor.

I would be able to let Seth, Quil, and Claire see the rest of my house. Since the kitchen was the only room with furniture, I wouldn't let them anywhere else. Seth and Quil would flip if they knew where I was actually sleeping.

A part of me wondered how they didn't know I didn't have any furniture. After all, they helped me throw out the old furniture. Maybe they were just being polite by not saying anything.

I laughed. Seth would have a fit if he knew I was sleeping on the floor.

"Seth is about to call," Aki warned me.

"Thanks," I muttered.

My phone rang two seconds later. I answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" my voice revealed my exhaustion.

"Hey, Ali! You sound tired," Seth said. His voice sounded like heaven right now.

"I am tired," I replied. "I just got back from shopping with Alice."

"You going to be okay?" His voice was filled with apprehension.

"I'm just tired, Seth. Alice is a maniac when it comes to shopping, but we got everything done today. We even had a little time to go clothes shopping," I told him excitedly.

"I can't wait to see everything," Seth said. He thought I was only buying a few things. Poor fool…

"Actually, I was hoping you could come over tomorrow evening to help. Maybe drag Quil or Russ here, too," I mentioned carefully.

"How about Jake? He really wants to meet you. Tomorrow would be perfect," Seth suggested excitedly.

"Sounds great! See you tomorrow," I laughed.

"See you tomorrow! Love you, bye!" He hung up immediately. Did he not want me to say it back or something?

"He was just nervous about saying it," Aki said. "Apparently, he was worried about how you would respond."

"Why would he think I would respond with anything but 'I love you, too'?" I asked, bewildered.

"He's male," Rika said succinctly. "They're strange. Why don't we go see the meeting?"

"They're holding another one already?" I gasped. I left my body immediately, and rushed back to the Cullen house with an entourage of spirits.

The same crowd was in attendance from last week, waiting for Alice to talk about our trip. Everyone was listening intently.

"She was careful about what she said about her family," Alice started. "She made sure there were no details, nothing I could use to trace her family."

"Did you find out why she came here?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes. When I asked her, she just said she wasn't happy in Sacramento, her family wasn't very nice, and she felt a connection with Seth that made her think this was where she belonged," Alice summarized.

"Congrats, man," Quil patted Seth on the back.

"One other thing I found out," Alice said. "She knows J. Jenks somehow. We stopped at one of his houses in the suburbs and she picked something up. A manila folder."

"Papers?" Bella asked warily.

"I don't know, but that's what I'm assuming," Alice replied.

"What did her family do to make her not only run away, but make sure they couldn't find her?" Carlisle asked aloud. "I don't like this."

"I don't think any of us do," Edward said.

"I'm going to meet her tomorrow with Seth," Jake said. "If anyone else wants to come, feel free."

"With all of the shopping we did today, you're going to need at least four wolves to get everything inside," Alice suggested.

"I thought she only needed a few things," Seth said, completely confused.

"Busted," Juliet laughed at me.

"Seth, she needed everything," Alice corrected. "We got everything for her kitchen, living room, master bedroom, spare bedroom, bathroom–"

"Wait," Seth interrupted. "Bedrooms? As in, beds? Where has she been sleeping?"

"I thought she had some stuff at her house, but she just wanted her own things," Alice said.

"We helped her throw all of the stuff that Old Quil left out," Russ commented.

"Which means she's been sleeping on the floor?" Seth looked enraged. I was _so_ going to hear about this tomorrow.

"What's done is done," Carlisle interceded. "Just help her tomorrow, and see what else you can find out. I have a bad feeling about why she came here."

"Alright. I'll help tomorrow, Seth," Russ said.

"Same here. I'll bring Claire over," Quil suggested. "Hopefully she'll distract Ali enough so we can get everything hauled in without her trying to help."

"I'll tie her to a chair if she tries to help lift anything," Seth growled.

"Good luck with that!" Jake laughed.

Everyone started going their separate ways, so I assumed the meeting was over. I flew back to my house, and made dinner.

"Is he really that against me helping them move my stuff into my house?" I asked Rika and Aki while I ate.

"You're his soul mate," Rika said. "He wants to do everything for you."

"What Rika means," Aki said sternly, glaring at his wife, "is that Seth loves you, so he wants to help you in any way possible."

"Which means trying to rule your life," Rika added.

They continued arguing like that while I got ready for bed. I was excited about tomorrow. All of my new things would be in my new house, and it would become my new home.

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**Please, please review! It really does make me update faster! Plus, next chapter we get to meet a lot more spirits, and not just the spirits of the dead... So please review!**


	9. Making a Home & Meeting the High Spirits

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**Alright, chapter 9! We're finally getting into the story now. Wow, eight reviews! I feel so special! Keep that up, and I'll keep updating! If you make a reasonable request for this story in a review, I'm more than happy to consider it.**

Also, I have a poll up on my profile page. I can't decide what story I'm going to write next, so I'm leaving it up to you! The choices are explained at the bottom of my page. Then vote for your favorite character and plot! Thank you!

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Allison's POV

I awoke the next morning to someone knocking on my door. Actually, they were pounding on it too hard for it to be called 'knocking'. Knocking would have been polite.

As I pulled myself off the ground, muttering about the impoliteness of some people, Aki and Rika appeared beside me.

"Seth is here with Alice. They aren't happy," Aki informed me.

_What gave you that idea?_ I asked him sarcastically.

"You're grumpy in the morning," Rika laughed.

I was in my blue-and-green plaid pajama pants with a black tank top. I considered getting dressed into acceptable clothes, but the incessant knocking reminded me that I was dealing with an irate wolf and an impatient vampire.

"Coming!" I shouted at the door while I tried to run my fingers through my hair in a futile effort to tame the mass of waves and curls.

The knocking got louder.

"Don't break my door down! I'm coming!" I shouted while I ran for the door. The master bedroom was the furthest room from the front door, so I had to run.

I pulled open the door, and my suspicions were confirmed. Seth stood in front of me, looking very pissed off, and Alice stood one step behind him, also looking pissed off.

"You know, I was looking forward to sleeping in today," I informed them in the politest voice I could manage at the time.

"Well, I got the paint early, so I figured we could get the walls done before everything else arrived this evening," Alice said shortly.

"Couldn't you have called to let me know you were coming?" I asked exasperatedly as I stepped aside to let them in.

"No," Alice replied succinctly.

"But I still need to eat. And shower. And get dressed. And tidy up. And –"

"You can do that while we get started," Seth said. He still sounded very upset.

"Sounds good to me," Alice said happily.

"Let's start with the master bedroom," Seth said. He must have rehearsed that line a thousand times before he came here.

I didn't bother to put up a fight. "As you please."

"Why does the rest of your house not have furniture?" Alice asked/shouted from the spare bedroom.

"Because we bought it yesterday, and it hasn't arrived yet," I sighed.

"So that means you've been sleeping on the floor?" Seth hissed through his teeth.

"He forgot a few lines in between," Rika giggled. Juliet giggled along with her. Aki rolled his eyes.

"Yes," I replied firmly. "I have been sleeping on the floor. I didn't mind, but I'll be grateful to have a real bed tonight."

The fire in Seth's eyes said he wasn't finished, but he didn't say anything else. He walked outside to fetch the paint. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of cereal. By the time I finished, Seth was finishing up the spare bedroom, and Alice had already finished the master bedroom, the master bathroom, and the hallway.

"They must want it dry by the time the trucks arrive," Aki commented.

_I thought Alice wasn't allowed on the wolves' territory,_ I mentioned to Aki.

"Yes, Jake said Alice was allowed here only to help you," Aki said. "After that, she has to stay off our land again."

_Does it bother you that she's here?_ I asked worriedly.

"No, the Cullens have never bothered me before. I thought my descendents were fools to not recognize the allies the Cullens could be. After all, both sides want the same thing; a life without bloodshed," Aki said simply.

I got up and took a shower in the main bathroom since my bathroom had wet paint. I made sure to take a long time so Alice could finish everything up without worrying about me seeing them inhuman. Plus, Old Quil had installed a huge water heater so I could take as long as I liked. His wife probably took really long showers, too.

When I got out, I threw my hair up into a ponytail and put on a simple tank top and ripped jeans. The jeans were ripped because they were old, not because of style. I was officially moving into my new home today; I was going to be working, so nice clothes would get ruined.

Alice grimaced at my choice of clothes. She was wearing a designer blouse and skinny jeans with nice kitten-heel shoes. But she was a vampire. She wasn't going to be getting dirty, and she would win in a fight against a filthy wolf intent on getting her filthy, too. I wasn't.

As I had guessed, everything was finished. Alice made up an excuse to go to her car. Something about calling Jasper.

When Seth approached me, still looking upset, I knew why. She was giving us the illusion of privacy.

Seth looked more sad than angry now. He looked liked a puppy that had been kicked. It made me want to cry.

"Why are you so upset about me sleeping on the floor?" I asked simply. "It didn't bother me. I didn't mind doing it."

"I don't know," he said desperately. "Just the idea of you sleeping on the floor, uncomfortable, no proper bed or blankets or pillows, just… Why didn't you tell me?"

Before I could answer, he kept talking, getting louder. "Allison, you mean so much to me. You chose to come here, to live in the same town as me _because_ of me. We could have gotten you an air mattress, a cot, _something_. I feel like… like something is wrong because of that. Like I should have taken better care of you. I love you, and you were _sleeping on the floor_."

"Seth…" I whispered. "I love you, too, and if I had known how much this would upset you, I would have asked for something. I would have told you at the very least. I'm sorry."

"Did you just say you loved me too?" Seth asked, a bewildered look on his face.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" I asked. Wasn't it obvious how much he meant to me?

He didn't say anything. He just closed the distance between us and kissed me. I felt his hands brush against my hair while his lips brushed against mine. It was a soft, sweet kiss, with so much passion behind it. All of the emotions in that kiss left me breathless.

When he slowly backed away from me, he tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind my ear. His dark eyes looked at me with so much love and devotion, and I knew mine were filled with the same emotions.

"Are you two finished with your lovers' spat?" Alice interrupted the moment, clearly annoyed.

Neither Seth nor I looked away from each other, but I answered with, "Yes, Alice. We're finished."

"Good, because the carpenter's here, and he needs to get to work," she said, still annoyed.

"I love you," I whispered to Seth.

"I love you, too," he whispered back.

With that declaration out of the way, we got back to work.

* * *

The carpenter Alice had hired turned out to be Jasper, so the woodworking got done in record time. I now had elegant oak cabinets in my kitchen, along with dark gray marble countertops. The molding around the entire house was replaced, and looked wonderful. Everything looked wonderful. Alice herself replaced all of the faucets and things, so I had lovely chrome finishings in the bathrooms and kitchen now.

Jake, Russ, Quil, and Claire arrived about an hour after Jasper had finished and left. The truck arrived five minutes after them.

Alice turned into a general commanding soldiers, dictating what went where, how it went there, and how it was positioned there. I wasn't allowed to move anything weighing more than ten pounds.

This rule came about when I tried to help Russ and Quil shift the queen-sized bed in the spare room. Seth snarled at me, threw me over his shoulder, dumped me next to Alice outside, and demanded that this new rule be accepted. Originally, Seth didn't want me moving anything over two pounds, but Alice saw that as a little extreme, so she raised it to a whopping ten pounds. All of the spirits laughed for fifteen minutes straight after that little incident.

When everyone was finished and everything was inside, Alice did one last inspection.

"Alright, this place is officially inhabitable!" Alice declared.

"Finally!" Jake complained. Alice shot him a glare that said if he didn't shut up, bad things would happen to his health.

"Don't we have to wait for the paint to finish drying?" I decided it would be a good idea to remind them that I was a human with lungs. They might be able to stay inside with their super-human abilities, but I couldn't.

"Oh, yeah." Jake seemed to be thinking hard, but you never know with him. "Hey! Why don't we go get dinner at Emily's?"

"Yeah!" Russ immediately agreed. "She can meet the rest of the pa – I mean, group!"

Everyone looked at Russ. He grinned sheepishly. I decided to let it go.

"All right, let me go get changed into something a little less dirty," I said.

"I'm going home for dinner," Alice told me. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Alice." I hugged her tightly, and went inside.

"Allison, you can't go," Aki said suddenly. He looked nervous. He never looks nervous.

"Why not?" I was so confused. Wouldn't going over to the former Alpha's house to meet the rest of the wolves and the imprints be a good thing? I was excited about meeting them.

"There are other… people… who want to meet you right now," Rika said. She sounded even more nervous than Aki.

"Can't it wait a few hours?" I asked.

"No," Aki said sadly. "You do not want to keep these ladies waiting. They want to meet you _now_."

"Alright," I sighed. "Just let me go tell the guys."

As I started to walk back outside, I felt a jerk in my chest. Suddenly I couldn't breathe, and the room began to spin. I felt another jerk. I tried to call out to the guys, to Aki, to anyone, but I couldn't make a sound.

My eyes closed, and my body fell to the ground. I was floating above myself in spirit form. I could hear the boys go quiet as they listened to me fall. I could hear their panic when I didn't get up. Then I was whisked away into the spirit world.

Aki and Rika were right beside me, but I was terrified. I had no control over my spirit, and I had no idea where we were going. Being pulled out of my body was the worst feeling ever.

By the colors swirling around me, and the strange, non-human spirits welcoming me, I was far away from the physical world.

"Welcome, young soul singer," a booming female voice called.

The spirits around me instantly quieted. Three female figures suddenly stood before me. One was made completely of water. The middle figure was made completely of wind and smoke. The last was made of stone and plants.

"You have travelled far and left much in order to aid this tribe," the water spirit said.

"I didn't leave that much," I said self-consciously. They ignored that statement and continued.

"We are the High Spirits. I am the spirit of the Ocean," the water spirit said.

"I am the spirit of the Wind," the middle spirit declared.

"And I am the spirit of the Earth," the stone spirit said. "We welcome you to the territory of the spirit wolves, and we thank you for coming here to aid the tribe."

"Thank you," I whispered, "for giving me a purpose. For giving me a life and a family I can be proud of."

"Taha Aki."

Aki looked up at the great spirits that controlled this world.

"Give her your best, Taha Aki. Your soul mate will aid you, as will the rest of the spirits, both dead and natural. Together, you will protect this tribe from the outside threats."

"Also, her family still wishes to find her and control her. You must not allow them to take her away."

"I will protect her from all harm that may befall her," Aki said, determined.

"Four guards from the Volturi will be arriving here tomorrow. They come to provoke the wolves into an attack, in order to justify a war."

"What?" I gasped. Aki and Rika had told me about the Volturi, and the war that almost happened between them and the Cullens because of Nessie.

"Good luck, young one. Do not hesitate to ask for our help."

"I won't. Thank you!" I barely managed to say before I was flying through the spirit world again, and returned back to my body.

* * *

Seth's POV

"How can there be nothing wrong with her?" I asked Carlisle again. We were gathered around Allison's still body on the couch, waiting for her to wake up. She had fainted inside her house over an hour ago, and we had brought her straight to Carlisle.

"I never said there was nothing wrong," Carlisle corrected calmly. "I said there was nothing wrong that I could find."

"She'll wake up soon, Seth," Russ tried to assure me.

"She fainted, and we have no idea why. How can you know she's going to wake up?" I asked dejectedly. Allison's face was peaceful in her strange, sudden sleep.

Instead of answering me, Russ turned to Carlisle. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"No, never," Carlisle answered. "There has always been a reason why someone dropped into a dead faint like this. I've taken blood samples, examined everything I could, and I can't find anything wrong with her. She's in perfect health."

"Just unconscious," Emmett added unnecessarily.

"What's unconscious?" a voice like angels singing asked. I turned, and Allison was pushing herself up into a sitting position, a confused look on her face.

I pulled her into a tight hug. She was finally awake. She was awake, and she was alright, and… and she was tapping her fingers against my shoulder.

"Um, Seth, your girlfriend is trying to tap out," Emmett pointed out. I pulled back and she inhaled deeply.

"Thanks," she gasped. She looked up at me and I got lost in her perfect emerald green eyes. She gave me a small smile.

"How long was I out?" she asked, her face smooth and unperturbed.

"A little over an hour," Carlisle answered. "Is this a normal occurrence for you?"

"Fainting?" Allison looked surprised, then thoughtful. "Recently, yes."

There was something she wasn't telling us. There was something in her eyes that said she was hiding something from all of us. Including me. She looked up into my eyes, and it was like she was begging me to understand.

"It's no big deal. But I would like to go home now. I have a new bed to break in," Allison said simply, standing up. I held her hips while she stood, and when she didn't wobble, I let go. I was ready for any sign of trouble now.

"Good luck with that. Let me know how it goes," Emmett said suggestively, wagging his eyebrows. Allison glared at him.

"Yeah, I'm going home. Since I don't have a car, who's taking me?" she asked. There was still that subtle look in her eyes that said something was up. She wasn't telling us something. Why did my imprint have to be so confusing?

"Me and Jake are," I answered, still searching her beautiful face for what I was missing. "He wants to show off the Rabbit he built himself."

Her eyebrows rose. "Really? That's impressive."

"I know," Jake answered conceitedly. "I'm just that awesome."

"Of course you are," Allison said in a voice that said she didn't believe him for a second. She turned to Carlisle and her face warmed.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I really appreciate it," she told him warmly.

"I don't mind at all. Let me know if anything else happens that is unusual," Carlisle replied.

That strange look crossed Allison's face again. "Don't worry, I will."

We then dragged Jake away from Nessie, and left before Alice could pull Allison into another shopping trip or dress-up time.

Allison was quiet the whole way back to her place. Tomorrow night was a bonfire, where the elders would tell the stories of our tribe, and she would find out the truth about the Quileutes. Hopefully, she would tell me what's going on in return.

* * *

**Please, tell me what you think in a review! I'll be forever grateful! Plus, I'm thinking about starting a new story. The ideas are posted on my profile, so please vote in the poll! I'll have the next chapter up in a week, but if I get more reviews, maybe earlier...**


	10. Bonfire and Invaders

**Wow! Chapter 10! It doesn't seem like it's been that long... I am updating early because I received four reviews, and this story broke 2,000 hits last night! I'm so excited to see that! Anywho, review this chapter because it strokes my writer-ego and makes me update faster, and go vote on my poll for my next story! Thanks everyone!**

Allison's POV

Thank the spirits Seth was mad at me. Otherwise, he would have remembered that my house still had paint fumes and I wouldn't be able to sleep inside. He would have freaked out, taken me to some stranger's house, and made me sleep there. How awkward.

So, after Seth dropped me off, I was currently lying in what used to be a garden beside my cabin. The stars were so _bright_ here. I stared at the heavens above me while I thought about what Seth had asked me on the way here.

Actually, he didn't really ask me. He more or less _told_ me I was going to the bonfire, and he would pick me up at five in the afternoon. Everyone would be dressing casual. Emily was making dinner. I wouldn't get back until late.

Seth was beginning to tick me off a little. I would have been more than happy to go. He didn't have to order me to go. I would know more about the legends than anyone in the tribe, because of my darling spirit guides, but still…

"Don't be mad at him," Anna Rika begged me. "He's just worried about you. Wolves get like that when they're worried about you and know they can't do anything."

"I know, I just…" I struggled for the right words. "I've just had enough of other people controlling my life."

"He loves you, and he's worried about you," Aki said simply. "That's all there is to it. You've been hurt twice in less than a week. He sees it as his fault for not protecting you."

"Why would any of this be his fault?" I gasped.

"Shush. The wolves are coming to check on you," Aki said quietly. Once again, I don't know why since the wolves can't hear him.

"It's Seth, Russ, Embry, Quil, and Jake," Rika informed me.

"Shall we let you in on their thoughts and conversations, since they are being rude by spying on you?" Rika asked in a falsely sweet voice.

_Sounds like a plan,_ I answered.

"_What is she doing, just laying there?"_ Embry asked.

"_We painted her house today, so she can't sleep inside because of the paint fumes,"_ Russ answered.

Seth, of course, freaked out.

"_No! First she has to sleep on the floor, then outside? No! No way! Not happening!"_ I could hear Seth's growls from here.

I looked up and around the forest, just to let them know Seth was far from quiet. They silenced instantly.

"_Seth, shut up. She heard us,"_ Jake hissed. _"And you can't go make her sleep inside. How will you explain knowing where she was going to sleep? It will make her suspicious. I thought you were waiting to tell her until the bonfire tomorrow."_

"_I am. I was. I just…"_ Seth couldn't find the words.

"_She looks pretty comfortable to me,"_ Embry commented.

"_There's a mouse by her. Ten bucks says she freaks when she sees it," _Quil declared.

I looked at the adorable brown mouse that was suddenly beside me. I decided Quil needed a lesson.

"Well, aren't you adorable?" I cooed. The mouse stared at me, probably wondering why I wasn't chasing it with a broom like every other human woman would have done.

"_So, who gets Quil's ten bucks?"_ Russ asked.

"I'm kind of curious why you aren't running," I said to the mouse, knowing the wolves were listening to every word. I kind of felt bad, but they were spying on me. They deserved it.

"You're braver than I am. I ran. And every day that passes makes me more and more happy that I did," I smiled at the mouse. "Even the animals make me feel welcome here."

I sighed. "Everyone has been so kind, so inviting. So helpful. It blows my mind that there are so many people who are willing to help me start a new life here. They're helping me mainly because of Seth, of course, but still… It feels nice.

"Everyone is so close to everyone else here. It's like one enormous family. It was only me and my parents back in Sacramento, and we never felt like a family. Being here made me realize… my mother and I were only trophies to my father."

I looked at the mouse, who hadn't moved. It was still staring at me. "I doubt you've ever had to deal with that," I told it sincerely.

"_She's talking to a mouse,"_ Leah had joined the wolves.

"_So she did run away because of her family,"_ Jake said sadly.

"_We'll give her a family here,"_ Russ said proudly.

"_She'll never feel lonely again, if I have anything to say about it,"_ Seth declared.

"_Am I the only one who noticed she's telling all of this to a mouse?"_ Leah said, outraged. _"She's clinically insane!"_

"_And you're a clinical bitch, but you never see us complaining,"_ Quil commented.

That earned a few snarls and a pounce from Leah, so I looked up again, pretending to be a little scared of the frightening noises coming from the forest. The growls had scared the little mouse away, so I was alone again – in the clearing that held my house and backyard, at least.

I stretched out on the ground again, and continued to stare at the stars. Tomorrow, I would reveal my more-than-human status to my new family, and I would help them protect La Push from any harm that could come this way.

* * *

Seth's POV

The wolves had just finished devouring the feast the wolf-girls had made. The bonfire was roaring in the middle of the circle made by the pack and family. I had just finished shoving a s'more in my mouth, and Allison was cuddled into my side for warmth.

She was giggling at Quil and Claire, and I loved that the strange shadows in her eyes had vanished. There was something else in its place, but I couldn't tell what. All I could do was hope that happiness was the only emotion she was feeling.

It had been a little nerve-wracking when Allison had pulled Jake aside to tell him she thought Alice was anorexic. She told him she saw Alice hiding her lunch in her purse, and she was really worried. Jake had quickly promised to tell the Cullens, and had been just as quick to shove her back to me and avoid her for the rest of the night.

Everyone was being loud, especially Quil, who was trying to catch Claire before she ran off into the woods. He ordered, he pleaded, he bargained, he begged on his knees, and she continued to run away.

"Claire," Allison said in a firm voice that sounded heavenly. "Billy is about to start the legends. Why don't you come sit with me?"

"Okay!" Claire agreed quickly, and hopped over to us. She settled herself next to Allison, trying to be… I'm not sure what. I think she was trying for the elegant way Allison always held herself. Allison stood gracefully, sat gracefully, and did everything else gracefully. Hell, she made mopping the kitchen floor an exquisite dance. I could see why Claire would want to imitate that.

Quil flopped down on the other side of Claire, clearly grateful that someone could get his wild young imprint to cooperate. He muttered a quick thanks to Allison.

Allison's eyes never left the faces of the story tellers during the legends. She had a small smile on her face the whole time, but I couldn't tell from what. Apparently, she knew something I didn't.

The fire made everything beautiful about Allison stand out. Her almond shaped eyes glowed with the colors of the fire, and the light and shadows accented her high cheekbones. The light turned her hair into shimmering gold.

I let my mind wander during the stories. I was amazed at how well Allison fit into the tightly knit group I called my friends and family. My mom had barely left her side all night. Old Quil had quickly taken a liking to the young girl renting his old home.

Leah had stayed home tonight, claiming a headache. I knew better. She was upset that I had imprinted, and she didn't want to meet her future sister-in-law. I could understand why, so I didn't push it. But she would have to get over this eventually. Allison had been disappointed when I told her Leah wasn't going to be here.

My mother had more than made up for it, though. She was constantly telling Allison embarrassing stories about me and Leah from our childhood. My mom had been waiting to meet Allison for a long time, and she was not wasting a moment.

When the Third Wife was mentioned, Allison's eyes flashed, almost like she was angry. Then the small smile had returned. I wondered briefly if I even wanted to know about this.

Billy finished up the last of the stories. As everyone started getting up to pack things up and leave, I realized the worst part of the night was here. I had to explain to Allison that all of the legends she had just heard were true… including the one where Taha Aki's descendents transform into giant wolves.

All of the elders, including my mother, gave me a look that said, "Do it now!" Even Jake and Sam were silently encouraging me. Paul was laughing. He was always a jerk.

I took Allison's hand and pulled her up. Her tiny hand was wrapped in my huge one, right where it belonged.

"Want to take a walk?" I asked. I could hear my voice shaking. She didn't seem to notice, though.

"Sure." Her smile was dazzling.

I wasn't paying attention to where we were going. I couldn't focus on anything but the enormous secret I was about to reveal to my soul mate.

"What d-did you think of the legends?" I managed to stammer out.

"I thought they were wonderful," she answered immediately, her voice strong and confident. "The way the elders told them was magical."

"I'm glad you think that," I began. My entire body was shaking, even though phasing was the last thing on my mind. I didn't know how to say it. How could I tell her? What if she freaked out?

"Well… you see… I… the truth is…" The words wouldn't come out. My whole life was riding on the outcome of this conversation.

"The legends are true," Allison interrupted. I stared at her. How had she known? Who told her? What the hell was going on?

She looked up at me and smiled her knowing smile. "I've known the truth for a while, Seth. It was kind of hard to miss."

"Who –"

"I figured it out on my own, Seth. I've known the truth since I arrived in La Push. Rumors about giant wolves running around the forest, and the tribe's legends are about wolves protecting the land? Rumors about 'cold ones', and meeting the Cullens, who are obviously more than human? It's all pretty obvious."

She said everything so simply, so calmly. "Really?" was all I could gasp out.

"Of course. Did you honestly think that I thought Alice was anorexic?" she asked, then shook her head. "I'm not stupid. Alice is above that kind of nonsense."

"Of course you aren't stupid! But how did you find out?" I choked out. Could Alice have told her? No, Edward would have known, and would have warned me.

"About that…" she turned shy and timid all of a sudden. "It's a really long story, but –"

A loud, long wolf howl cut her off. It was an emergency howl. That howl meant there was a vampire.

"I'm sorry, Allison, but I have to go!" I gave her a too-brief kiss, and ran into the woods. I pulled my clothes off and phased, not even bothering to tie them to my ankle.

"_Four vampires are in the northern part of our woods,"_ Leah told us all. She had been patrolling during the bonfire. Every wolf was present and accounted for. _"They're part of the Volturi."_

Every wolf growled at that. We weren't letting those monsters anywhere near our tribe.

We didn't have to run very far to find them. There were four vampires, being led by that tiny, sadistic one called Jane.

Their merciless red eyes scanned us quickly. They were surrounded by wolves and a cliff dropping off to the ocean, and heavily outnumbered. We could win this fight easily. Jake was wondering why they would come alone, but no one else could think past the coming fight.

"How dull," Jane drawled. "Dogs by the dozen."

"Shall we complete our mission, then?" A tall vamp asked her, sounding just as bored as she did. I couldn't remember this particular vamp's name.

"We won't have to work hard, apparently. They come to us," Jane said.

At first I thought she was talking about the wolves coming to fight them, but then a voice called through the night that stopped my heart.

"Seth?" Allison's sweet voice called out. She was here. My beautiful, breakable imprint had just waded into a supernatural brawl.

"Where are you?" Her voice cut through me, and before I could do anything to stop her, Jane had disappeared. She reappeared right back where she was standing before, only this time she had her hand wrapped around Allison's throat.

"Attack, and I snap her neck," Jane informed us simply. Allison struggled against her captor, but she couldn't do anything against a vampire.

I couldn't move. My instinct was screaming at me to attack the enemy threatening my love, but my heart was terrified of losing the one thing that mattered the most to me.

"Not so vicious anymore, are we, puppies?" the tall one taunted us. None of us moved. Paul growled.

"Snapping her neck would be too simple," Jane said as if she was talking about a manicure. "I don't want to drink anything that has been around dogs, though. Decisions, decisions…"

I stared at Allison, but there was no fear in her eyes. If anything, she looked determined. She looked like she was concentrating hard. Probably why she came here, to me. I was supposed to protect her, and I had failed.

"Perhaps dropping her off a cliff would be best," Jane stated. "We'll let the ocean do our work for us." A storm was moving in, and the waves were wild. At this part of the coast, there were too many rocks to go cliff-diving off. Allison would be killed instantly.

Jane walked over to the edge of the cliff, dragging Allison behind her. Everyone was wracking their brains on how we could save her life without endangering her life. If we attacked, she would be killed long before we reached her. If we did nothing, she would be killed. Some thought it was too late, no matter what we did. I couldn't afford to give up hope.

Jane held Allison over the edge of the cliff. She dangled there helplessly, while everyone watched, too terrified of causing her death to do anything to stop it.

"You're all so boring," Jane droned on. "I thought this was going to be far more entertaining."

And with that, Jane let go. Allison plummeted out of sight, and I could hear her screaming until she hit the rocks.

With that action, my life, everything I had dreamed for, was over. My imprint, my Allison, was dead. The wolves attacked, but the Volturi were already running away. There was no way we were going to catch up to them. Russ and Jake stopped me from jumping off the cliff after her.

Life no longer had meaning. I would never see her smile again, would never hear her sing as she cleaned her tiny cabin, would never know what she was going to tell me before I ran off – with her behind me.

When my throat started burning, I realized I was screaming. I had been screaming since she fell. I had phased back into a human, where the pain was so much worse. I deserved it. I let my reason for existence die. I hadn't been able to protect her.

Jake and Russ were saying something, but I couldn't figure out what. I honestly didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered without my Allison in this world.

Nothing.

**(AN: You should be happy. As a thank you for 2,000 hits, I'm not stopping this chapter here, so you get to see what happened from Allison's point of view!)**

* * *

Allison's POV

The bonfire had been magical, but not nearly as entertaining as Seth's face when I told him I already knew his deepest secret.

I was about to tell him what I was when the wolf howl interrupted us.

"The Volturi are here!" Juliet rushed towards me. "Four of them! They came here to kill a human, so the wolves will attack them, and they can justify a war with the wolves!"

Seth grabbed my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Allison, but I have to go!" He kissed me, too briefly and full of emotion, and ran into the woods.

_We have to follow them!_ I thought to my spirits, and we started running after Seth. The High Spirit of the Wind was suddenly behind me, using bursts of air to push my feet farther than was humanly possible. Each step I took launched me at least fifteen feet forward.

_I have to be the human the Volturi try to kill!_ I told the spirits around me urgently. _You can protect me the easiest._

"A clever plan, young one," the Wind spirit said. "We will protect you, and fool the invaders into thinking you are dead."

I could hear the wolves and the vampires in the clearing ahead. I was terrified beyond imagination. I was about to offer myself up as a sacrifice to the most brutal vampires in the world. But my new family needed me, so I had to get over it and walk into that clearing.

"Seth?" I called out, pretending to stumble forward. "Where are you?"

Then an ice-cold hand was around my throat, and I was flying into the clearing. I could vaguely see the outlines of the wolves surrounding the vampires, but the red eyes of my captors were hard to miss.

_Influence the one holding me,_ I asked the spirits. _Tell her to kill me by throwing me off the cliff. The High Spirit of the Ocean will keep me from hitting the rocks or drowning._

Black dots began to cloud my vision. I couldn't breathe; the vampire was holding my throat too tight. I could hear the vampire talking about how she should kill me. I could also hear my spirits telling her how she should kill me.

Air suddenly rushed around me again, and I was dangling off the side of the cliff. I could see the ocean waves below me crash mercilessly against the cliff wall.

"I thought this was going to be far more entertaining," I heard the vampire say, and then she let me go.

I plummeted towards the ocean, and I couldn't help but scream. The fall was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. A giant wave gently wrapped around me, cushioning my fall.

"You are safe, young one," the High Spirit of the Ocean said. "Rest. We will keep you and your wolf safe."

Grateful that someone else would deal with the rest, I closed my eyes.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading my story! Please, review to let me know what you think! Next chapter, Allison finally meets Leah! And please go vote in my poll for the next story I'm going to write. Thanks again!**


	11. Aftermath

**Holy crap! Nine reviews! Nine! I feel so loved... or the story does, at least. We get another new spirit in this chapter, including Leah's and Allison's first meeting! Read on, and please remember to review!**

Allison's POV

I awoke on a rocky beach, feeling the small waves wash against me. The sky was a deep, foreboding gray. It took me a while to remember why I was face up on a beach, laying in the shallow waves.

The Volturi had visited my new town last night. Jane had tried to kill me by throwing me off a cliff. The spirits had protected me and prevented me from dying.

My throat was ridiculously sore. I probably had bruises from Jane's grip last night.

"Allison! Thank God you're awake!" Harry Clearwater's voice sounded urgent. I looked around to see all of my spirit friends floating around me, staring at me with worried faces.

"Get up, Allison! You need to get up now!" Aki urged me. He sounded panicked. Aki never panics.

"Why?" I groaned. What could be so urgent that I couldn't just lie here and collect myself after being thrown off a cliff by a vampire?

"Seth is trying to kill himself!" Juliet shrieked.

"What?" I gasped and screamed at the same time. "Why would he do that? What could make him do that?"

"He thinks you're dead!" Rika wailed. Seth didn't know I had protectors from the spirit world… what else could he think? Anyone who didn't know the truth about me would come to the conclusion that I couldn't have survived that fall.

I fought with my tired, aching body to get up. My legs felt like rubber, and my head was pounding with a merciless headache. But I couldn't give up. If I rested for even a moment, I might never see Seth again.

I pushed my way up, and stumbled towards the parking lot of First Beach. I used random driftwood logs to keep myself upright while I scanned the beach for anyone who could help. Not a single living person was in sight.

"I told Leah to come to the beach this morning," Harry told me while I kept stumbling forward. "She listened to me, or, rather, she was influenced by me, so she should be here any minute."

"No, she's already here!" Juliet exclaimed, and pointed towards a pathway that led into the woods. A tall, beautiful Quileute woman walked out in a T-shirt and jean shorts. With that height and those muscles, it had to be Leah.

"Leah!" I shouted, trying to get her attention. "Leah!"

She looked towards me, and her face fell into pure shock. "Allison? What happened?"

"A vampire threw me off a cliff, and now everyone thinks I'm dead!" I shouted back, trying to stumble towards her. Didn't she understand her brother's life is at stake?

She ran to me, and put her arm around me for support. "How are you still alive?" she asked in bewilderment.

"I have no idea, but everyone thinks I'm dead! Where's Seth?" I asked urgently. I felt bad for lying to her, but I had no time to explain the truth.

"Sit here, I'll go find him!" She dropped me onto a large log, and ran for the forest.

"Wait! Leah!" I shouted. Would Seth believe her when she told him I wasn't dead? I couldn't answer that honestly, so I got up, and ran after her.

* * *

Seth's POV

I wanted to die. Was that really that hard for my brothers to understand? I had failed. Allison's body was floating in the sea somewhere, dead and completely alone. Had she known how much she meant to me, before she hit the rocks?

"_Seth, stop this __**now!**__" _Jake's Alpha voice thundered through my mind. I skidded to a stop before I ran head-first into a boulder the size of my house. I couldn't heal if my brains were splattered everywhere, right?

"_You IDIOTS! She isn't dead!"_ Leah's voice joined the chorus of pleas for me to stop this, to go home to my family. That stopped everyone's shouts, including my own.

Leah's memory played through our minds. Allison, looking battered and beautiful, stumbling around First Beach, calling for help. Ugly purple bruises marred her once pale neck. She didn't look scared, she looked… furious.

"_See? She isn't dead, so knock it off, Seth,"_ Leah ordered. Was it even possible? Could Allison have survived that fall? No one else had even considered it a possibility that she could have lived through that.

It was possible to lie with your thoughts. Leah could be lying in order to save me.

"_I'm not lying, you little punk,"_ Leah growled at me. _"She's at First Beach now, waiting for you."_

I felt Jake freeze. Someone was approaching us, and fast. Their footsteps were so light, I could barely hear them. Whoever it was was too light to be a vampire. Their footsteps were too slow, too. It was almost like the creature was taking huge, long leaps instead of steps. Their feet barely touched the ground.

Everyone prepared for an attack. I wasn't thinking. I couldn't think anymore, I wasn't capable of thought anymore.

Then Allison leaped into the clearing, and I was able to breathe easily for the first time today. She was soaking wet, and her hair was a tangled gold mess that looked stunning. Her emerald green eyes landed on me, and she glared.

"You stupid, idiotic wolf!" she screamed at me. She was surrounded by more than a dozen huge werewolves, and she was screaming at us? I was so confused.

"What on earth were you thinking?" she continued to rant and rave at me. "I was worried sick! Did you even stop to consider I might not be dead? Did it even cross your mind that it would piss me off to no end if you had killed yourself because of me?"

"_What do I do?"_ I asked everyone while she continued to scream at me. I was still so confused. Her throat was black with bruises, but other than that, she looked fine.

"_Take it like a man, then give her amazing sex tonight,"_ Paul said promptly. _"That always chills Rachel out, no matter how pissed off she is."_

"_I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that about my sister,"_ Jake snarled.

"Now is SO not the time to be getting into stupid little squabbles about Rachel!" Allison shrieked. Wait, how did she know we were talking about Rachel? Did she even know who Rachel was?

"I – I – Ugh! You're all so infuriating! I don't know how Leah puts up with this!" she shouted, then started stomping away.

"_Seth, you lucky asshole,"_ Paul thought enviously. _"When a chick gets that pissed off, the sex is freaking amazing. Have fun, kid."_

"Paul, will you stop talking about sex for once in your life?" Allison, apparently, can understand us as wolves, because she is _pissed_.

"First of all, it's really annoying and really degrading. Second, I – wait, am I trying to reason with you? Like that's going to work," Allison's monologue was actually kind of cute.

"_Ugh, enough with the 'my imprint is so adorable' talk! It gets really old, really fast,"_ Paul told me snidely.

She glared at Paul. "You did not just insult _my _Seth. Aki, just shut him up, please."

Suddenly, Paul flew through the air and hit a tree. Somehow, the tree was fine and Paul crumpled to the ground.

"I'm going home," Allison declared, and walked out of the clearing.

To say everyone was confused would be an understatement.

* * *

Allison's POV

I waited for Seth at my cabin. I sat in the once-vegetable garden, listening to my spirit guide's – and every other spirit's – opinions on what I should do next.

"I'm just going to wait for Seth to come here," I told them all firmly. I would wait for him to approach me. Why, I had no idea. But that's what I was going to do.

"Why? How 'bout I just kill him, and we move on with our lives?" a male spirit said matter-of-factly. He was dressed all in black, with black hair and black eyes. His skin was paler than the Cullens'.

"No," I said firmly. "No one is touching Seth."

"Go away, Death," Juliet growled at the new spirit.

"Death?" I asked, astounded.

"Yes, I'm the spirit of Death," he said in a very bored tone of voice. "I'm also known as the Grim Reaper, Charon, Harbinger of Doom, and many other unkind names, but you can just call me Death."

"Alright, Death. Why do you want to kill my soul mate?" I asked warily.

"Oh, sorry, that's just a knee-jerk reaction. I don't actually want him dead. That would make Leah sad," he said happily.

"Why do Leah's feelings matter to you?" Harry growled, clearly not liking any boy near his baby girl. Especially Death.

"Look, it's a long-ass story that I really don't want to go into right now. She matters to me. Let's leave it at that," Death replied hastily.

"Seth's coming!" Rika interrupted happily.

Everyone fell silent as Seth walked out of the woods with nothing but cut-off jean shorts on. On any other day, I would have drooled at the sight of him shirtless, but I was too unhappy to notice properly.

"Hi, Seth," I said quietly. He winced at the sound of my voice. He _winced_. He was a shape shifter, how could he be afraid of me? Then again, being afraid of someone and being terrified of someone you once loved and trusted who can suddenly do things normal people shouldn't be able to do are two completely different things.

"Hi, Ali," he whispered back, pain evident in his voice.

I looked down. I couldn't look at him anymore without bursting into tears. He looked so… so… _terrified_ of being alone with me. Of course, we weren't technically alone, but he didn't know that. Plus, all of those people would be on my side, not his.

"Ali…" he began slowly, "why didn't you tell me what was going on? Why are you still hiding everything from me?"

"I tried to tell you," I countered desperately. "Before you ran away last night. I tried to tell you everything, but you were gone before I even realized you had said goodbye."

"Then tell me now," Seth demanded. "Tell me why you ran away from home, why you came here, how you know what we all are, and what the hell _you_ are."

I took a deep breath. "I ran away from home because my parents were trying to control me. I came here because I love you and I trust you. I know what you are because a wolf told me everything, even the things you've forgotten. And I'm… not normal. Human, completely human, but not… what you're used to."

"I knew it!" Seth cursed under his breath. "I knew Russ told you everything."

"It wasn't Russ," I corrected quickly.

"Then who was it?" Seth asked angrily.

I sighed and answered, "Taha Aki."

"Ali, Taha Aki is dead," Seth said angrily.

"For centuries now," I said simply.

Seth blinked and stared at me. "If he's dead, how could he tell you what we are?"

"Like I said, Seth, I'm human, just… different."

"How so?" Seth hissed.

"I'm a shaman," I blurted out. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell is a shaman?" he asked, bewildered.

"I'm a connection between this world and the next," I explained quickly. He still looked confused.

"What, like parallel universes or something?"

"No," I said exasperatedly. "Between the World of the Living and the Spirit World."

"The what?" Seth still looked and sounded confused.

"The living world is the one that we live in right now, the one that we can see. The spirit world is the place where the spirits of nature and the spirits of the dead live. Unlike most people, I can see both," I tried to explain.

"Do you have any idea of how… unbelievable this all is?" Seth asked, frustrated. "You talk to dead people? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes! I talk to dead people!" I shouted at him, insulted. "Your ancestors and your father included!"

"My dad?" Seth's anger left him completely for a moment. It returned quickly enough. "That's not possible!"

"Are you saying I'm lying to you?" I had lost all control of my emotions.

"No, I'm saying that this is impossible! You can't talk to dead people! That's why they're dead!" Seth shouted.

"So now you think I'm crazy?" I asked, tears running down my face. "Fine! Aki, show him how crazy I am."

Aki deftly picked Seth up and threw him into the forest, just like he had to Paul earlier, only he made sure that Seth wasn't hurt. I stormed inside, locked all of the doors and windows, and collapsed onto my bed and cried for a long time.

* * *

My spirits had gathered around my bed while I cried, silently giving me their support. Harry had gone after Seth, to try to influence some sense into him. It always amazed me at how much influence the spirit world had over this world.

After a few hours, I sniffled and sat up. Crying wouldn't help anymore. I needed something else to do, something to keep my mind off Seth for a little while longer.

"How about I tell you my story while we wait for Seth to show up and apologize?" Death suggested kindly. For being the Grim Reaper, he was very kind and considerate.

"Sure, but you don't have to," I made sure to tell him. He didn't have to reveal his life's story before he barely knew me.

"But I want to," Death assured me. "You're kind and in love, so you'll understand why I did what I did, and you need to keep your mind off of He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned until he comes to apologize. Because he will come to apologize, believe me."

"Alright, go ahead," I said.

"Well, I was born five thousand years ago in what is now Alexandria of Egypt," he began, but was promptly interrupted.

"Really?" Juliet exclaimed. Aki and Rika seemed surprised, as well. They didn't expect to find a spirit older than they are that wasn't a spirit of nature.

"Yes. I was the son of an important general, and my family was well-off. My parents gave me everything I ever wanted, until my sixteenth year. I met a beautiful girl, and it was love at first sight. She was a peasant, though, the daughter of a merchant. My parents forbid our relationship, but I snuck out to see her anyways. Her name was Dalila."

He paused for a moment. His face was drawn in pain. It was obvious that this story was not going to have a happy ending.

"We met in secret for three years. I loved her more than I had ever loved anything. I didn't think that kind of love was possible. My parents discovered us one night, and had Dalila killed. They slit her throat right in front of me."

I gasped, tears of sorrow sliding down my cheeks. What would happen if my father tried to do that to Seth? I couldn't live without him.

"I made a deal with the gods. I would serve them if they let Dalila and I could live a long, safe, and happy life together. And they accepted. They decreed that when I died, I would serve as a spirit of death for five thousand years. After that, I would be reincarnated to live the rest of my life with my soul mate."

"Five thousand years? That means your time is almost up!" I declared happily.

"Yes," he whispered, with a longing look in his eyes. "I have six months before I am reincarnated back into the living world to live another life with my love."

"How will you find her?" Juliet asked.

"I already have," Death smiled. "Her name in this life is Leah Clearwater."

* * *

**Cliffhanger! I'm sorry, but that was the perfect place to end it. Now, I have a family crisis going right now, so I don't know when I'll be able to update again. While you're waiting, please review and vote in my poll for my next story. Only five people have voted so far! I need more than that before I can decide. Thank you all for reading!**


	12. Revealing the Truth

**Alright, that was one hell of a week. Lots of drama. Now, I have something to say that is really important, so please don't skip this.**

**I received two anonymous reviews recently that were incredibly cruel and hurtful. There are ways to tell me something is wrong without calling my story stupid and calling me a bitch. If you're going to leave a review like that, sign in so I can PM you and talk to you about it. Don't hide and call my story shit. There is a line between constructive criticism and flat-out cruelty. If I receive another review like that, I will disable anonymous reviews. Every other anonymous review I've received has been helpful and constructive, so I really don't want to do that. I've already deleted the reviews that were non-constructive. Please don't make me make other readers suffer because you're feeling like a vindictive bitch.**

**Thank you, and on with chapter 12!**

Allison's POV

"Leah?" we all gasped. Leah's soul mate is Death?

"I'll be perfectly honest: I did not see that one coming," Rika commented.

"I don't think anyone did," Juliet mentioned.

I was in shock. Leah… and Death?

"Yes," Death said sadly. "My darling Dalila, Lin, Elaine, Leanne, Elizabeth, and many, many other names, now Leah. She's been walking this world alone since the day I died of natural causes in Egypt, and the spirits called in the debt. I watched as she fell in love with other men, watched her heart break, watched her live her lives while I was trapped here, aiding the spirits in their journey to the other side."

"Wait," I said suddenly, realizing a very important detail. "You said you made this deal five thousand years ago."

"Yes," Death confirmed.

"You also said this deal lasted five thousand years."

"Yes," Death said happily. "I have six months, then I will be reincarnated back into this world, and Leah and I will be together again."

"Oh, it's so romantic!" Juliet exclaimed. She was a sucker for love stories.

"Wait, what about imprinting?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, Leah will imprint on me, as soon as she sees me in the living world. The spirits assured me of that," Death said.

"Good," I thought back to the strained look on Leah's face, the tightness in her voice. She needed a good, dedicated man like Death. …That's not a sentence you see every day.

"Seth is returning," Aki informed me. "Jake is with him. They are ready to listen to what you have to say about yourself."

"Good," I repeated. Seth and Jake were coming here with open minds.

"They also want answers about your previous life in Sacramento," Aki added, ruining the happy moment. Of course they wanted to know.

There was a knock at the door, signaling the wolves' arrival. I didn't bother to hide my unhappiness when I opened the door. I was still upset at Seth's reaction. What happened to 'I'll love you no matter what'?

"What do you want?" I meant for my voice to sound cruel, but it just sounded sad and tired.

"Hey, Allison. Mind if we come in?" Jake said in the same tired tone.

"Yes, but you can come in anyways," I said. I led the way to my tiny living room, with its lovely new furnishings. I doubt they noticed the stylish look Alice had achieved.

I collapsed onto my favorite chair, a vintage-style with dark mahogany wood and deep purple cushions. It looked extremely uncomfortable, but it was surprisingly cozy.

Seth and Jake sat across from me on the couch, never taking their eyes off me, staring me down. It was kind of unnerving, but I knew they wouldn't hurt me. With my spirits, they couldn't if they tried.

"Alright, let's just get straight to the point," Jake sighed. "How do we know you're telling us the truth when you say you talk to dead people?"

It was my turn to sigh. Did Seth pay attention to anything I said besides the dead part? "I don't talk to dead people, Jake. I'm a shaman. I connect this world to the spirit world, where both the spirits of the living and the spirits of nature reside. In short, I talk to nature spirits and dead spirits."

Jake and Seth blinked at the same time. I would have laughed if the conversation wasn't so serious.

"You've got to admit, Allison, this is kind of hard to believe," Jake finally said.

"Of course it's hard to believe," I agreed. "But you both turn into wolves the size of horses. You fell in love with a half-human, half-vampire girl. There are vampires in Italy that consider themselves royalty. Those things aren't easy to believe either, but that doesn't make them less true."

"Could you give us some kind of proof?" Jake asked. "Like, we can turn into the wolves to prove we're shape-shifters. Vampires can run super-fast and can throw cars over their heads. Can you… I don't know – prove somehow that you are a… a shaman thing?"

"I can prove I'm a shaman," I said simply. "Would you like subtle proof, or oh-my-god-she's-an-effing-shaman kind of proof?"

Seth and Jake exchanged a look. Seth answered, "Let's try subtle first, and if it's not enough to convince us, we'll go with the shocking proof."

"Sounds good," I said with a smile. "How about we start off with 'Things I Shouldn't Know But Somehow I Do'?"

"Sure," they both answered, an uneasy look on their faces.

"I knew about all of the tribe's legends before I even arrived in Washington. The Third Wife's name is Anna Rika, and Taha Aki is beyond pissed off that the tribe forgot her name. There are three High Spirits that look out for the tribe, each representing an aspect of nature. They sent me here so I could give the wisdom and strength of the past to the present, where it's truly needed."

"Um…" Jake looked a little lost for words. He recovered quickly. "You could have made all of that up."

"Alright. I didn't want to do this," I said ominously, then summoned some of the spirits silently. With Harry Clearwater, and Jake's mother at my side, I was going to shock the crap out of them.

"Seth, you told me about the father-son camping trips you and your father used to take when you were younger. You never said that was where your father gave you the sex talk."

Seth blushed a violent red that was visible even with his russet-colored skin. I continued.

"Jake, when you were a toddler, your mother would read the poem 'Goodnight, Moon' to you every night."

Jake blushed, too, but not quite as much as Seth did. I felt bad about revealing their secrets, but they needed to know that I was telling the truth.

"Seth, when Sam dumped Leah for your cousin Emily, you tried to beat Sam up, and got your ass handed to you."

Jake laughed. "No one ever told me about that!" he guffawed.

"Jake, you were in love with Bella Swan before she turned into a vampire. You imprinted on Nessie minutes after she was born. Isn't it a little awkward, knowing your old love is going to be your mother-in-law?"

Jake instantly stopped laughing. Seth started howling in his place. "Dude, it's true! That's so weird!"

"Anything else?" I asked politely. I knew this wasn't going to be enough for them, but I felt it was better to ask then to assume.

"Alright, that was pretty persuasive," Jake admitted once he punched Seth to make him stop laughing. "But I think we need some undeniable proof. Like, all of this stuff could've been told to you by my dad, or Seth's mom."

"If you insist," I agreed. "However, let's go outside so you don't break anything, shall we?"

As we walked out the door, Jake asked, "Why would we break something? Are you going to do something to make us phase?"

I paused for a second. "Not exactly," was my cryptic answer.

Once we were outside and clear of my house, I said, "Aki? Show Jake what you showed Paul earlier, please."

Then Jake flew through the air, and crashed to the ground at the edge of the forest.

"Is that enough proof for you?" I asked Seth. He stared at Jake, dumbfounded.

"How long have you been a… shaman?" he asked quietly. I took that as his belief.

"While I was travelling here, Aki gave me the test," I answered.

"Test?" he questioned.

"Yes, the test. I woke up that morning to Aki strangling me." Seth growled. I interrupted quickly before he could get upset. "If I could fight him off, I was strong enough to be a shaman. Aki and Rika have been with me ever since."

"Why did he have to hurt you to see if you were worthy?" Seth was watching Jake struggle to his feet.

"Tradition," I said simply. "Every true shaman in the world is chosen that way. But ever since, Aki and Rika have kept me safe, even from crazy pedophiles and sadistic vampires."

"They made sure you were able to get away from that crazy guy who tried to kidnap Claire. They made sure you couldn't feel anything from your wound. They saved you from Jane last night," Seth whispered wondrously. "They protected you from her, and made sure you didn't drown once she threw you over the side."

"And they sent Leah to find me," I added with a smile. For the first time that day, Seth smiled at me. By the spirits, did I miss that smile!

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him. He kissed me back with all the passion in the world, and I was sure our fight was over.

"Will you two stop swapping spit already?" Jake muttered from behind us. I hadn't even noticed he got up.

"Tell Jake to shut up," Juliet asked sweetly.

"Juliet said to shut up, Jake," I repeated.

"Who's Juliet?" Jake asked, a confused look on his face.

"One of the many spirits that follow me around," I answered sweetly. "Trust me, you owe her a lot."

"I do?" Jake still looked confused. I decided that he had had enough information for one day.

"I'll explain later," I laughed.

"Should we go explain all of this to the rest of the pack? I know Paul wants to know what the hell threw him like that," Jake said.

"Maybe later," I said. I wasn't up to dealing with an irate wolf. I had had enough of angry wolves for one day.

"How about the Cullens?" Seth suggested. I did want to see Alice again…

"Why not? Let me take a quick shower first, though," I said. I had drowned, then I was crying for hours on end. I needed to put some effort into my appearance if we were going anywhere. Especially since Alice would attack me if I didn't look presentable.

Once I was done, we piled into Jake's old Rabbit, and headed for the Cullens.

* * *

Seth's POV

Allison was smiling widely when we got out of the car at the Cullen's house/mansion. My guess was she was happy that we finally knew the truth. She was one of those pure souls, that couldn't be cruel or hurtful if she tried. Keeping that big of a secret from everyone must have taken its toll on her.

She had a bounce in her step as we walked up the stairs and into the Cullen's house. We didn't bother knocking on the door anymore. We hadn't for years.

When we walked into the living room, everyone was already assembled. Carlisle smiled, probably glad that Allison wasn't here because she was hurt. Edward had a big smile, too. He couldn't read Allison's thoughts, but he could read ours.

"Allison!" Alice bounded over to us and hugged Allison. She was talking a mile a minute, as usual.

"Allison, it's so good to see you! How is everything working at your house? Do you like it? Have the wolves messed anything up yet? I love your outfit today! That skirt looks adorable on you! Then again, a lot of different things look good on you. You have a gorgeous hourglass shape that works for everything. Maybe you should try a little makeup next time –"

She continued on for another ten minutes. Jake had found Nessie, so they were out back playing 'hop-and-pounce'. Jake was losing on purpose, as usual.

Once Alice was finished, Edward cut in. He probably knew that if he didn't speak up now, Alice wouldn't give him another chance for a few hours. "Carlisle, it would appear Allison knows a bit more about us than we first thought."

Carlisle's eyes widened in response. "I didn't know the wolves told her everything yet."

"They didn't," Allison said, the same big smile on her face.

"Really?" Rosalie sneered with a barely disguised growl.

"Of course," Allison replied to her, the smile still on her face. But there was a tightness in her eyes that said the smile was no longer there because she was happy. "Why would you doubt that? The wolves told you that they never told me anything about the secret."

"Then how do you know, when no one has told you?" Rosalie's voice started out soft, then worked its way up to a screech.

"Because a spirit of the dead told me," Allison answered simply, still calm. But I knew she was getting pissed under the calm façade.

"A spirit? You mean a ghost? Are you crazy or something?" Rosalie continued to screech.

"Aki," Allison said, as calmly as could be, "show Rosalie how crazy I am."

Rosalie suddenly flew through the air and out one of the enormous windows. The glass froze once Rosalie tumbled outside, and returned back to the pane like a puzzle. The window showed no sign of the previous damage. Except Rosalie was outside, staring inside in shock.

Everyone looked shocked, except for Edward. He just kept smiling. Of course, he probably knew what was going to happen, so he wouldn't be surprised.

"How did you do that?" Emmett asked in wonder. He wasn't worried for his wife or anything. He wanted to know how a human had thrown a vampire out a window – then fixed that window the next second.

"Like I said," Allison said happily. Her smile was back from true happiness now. "I asked Aki to show her I wasn't crazy, so he did."

"By Aki," Edward inserted, "she means Taha Aki, the first of the spirit wolves. He is her spirit guide. A guardian, of sorts. He protects her, and helps her protect the tribe. She was sent here to aid the wolves."

"That explains it quite nicely," Allison smiled at Edward. "Thank you for explaining for me."

"Not a problem," Edward replied.

"A shaman? I've never met one," Carlisle mentioned.

"You wouldn't have," Allison said. "It's impossible for vampires to be shamans."

This was news to me. "Why?" I asked stupidly.

"Shamans are the living bridge between life and death, the living world and the spirit world," Allison explained. "Once the bridge is no longer alive, it ceases to hold the power that makes it possible to cross over to the other side and be able to come back again."

"I have no idea what you just said," Emmett commented.

"It means my spirit is able to leave my body and return, but if I was dead, I wouldn't be able to do the returning part," Allison tried to simplify.

"Oh, okay. I'm going to go make sure Rose isn't going to kill you," Emmett said, then leaped out the back door.

"There's really no need. I can never be surprised," Allison said.

"It's to ease our minds more than yours," Carlisle said.

"Thank y – do you mind?" Allison started to thank Carlisle, but suddenly turned to face a blank wall with a frighteningly scary look on her face.

Everyone just stared at her, completely quiet. Maybe it was a shaman thing…?

Then I caught the look on Edward's face. He, too, looked murderous. What was going on?

"Leave. Rosalie. Alone." Allison emphasized each word slowly and carefully, with rage in every syllable. "I don't care if she killed you! You killed HER! So I don't want to hear it!"

Allison started to walk away, but something stopped her. She turned to face the same wall as before. "If I find out," she whispered menacingly, "about you bothering Rosalie one more time, I will drag your soul to Hell myself!"

The angry look remained a moment longer, then was gone.

"Thank you," Edward was suddenly beside Allison, an arm around her shoulders. "We had no idea Rosalie's past continued to haunt her like this."

"That's part of my job, Edward," Allison answered.

"What's going on?" Bella asked.

"The spirits stopped blocking my thoughts from Edward for today," Allison explained. "He saw and heard what I saw and heard. It upset both of us."

"'Upset' is putting it lightly," Edward growled. The vampires looked at Edward quizzically.

"Royce King has been bothering Rosalie as a spirit," Edward told them simply. Who the hell was Royce King?

"It's getting late," Allison said suddenly. "We should probably get going before Rosalie comes back inside."

"Yeah," I said weakly. Every single day was an adventure with her. I loved it. I shouted to Jake out the back door. "Jake! Let's go, or I'm driving your car!"

"The hell you are!" Jake and Nessie came back inside instantly.

"Come back soon, Allison!" Alice hugged Allison one last time. Everyone hugged Allison goodbye. She just had a light that drew people to her and made them love her. Kind of like Nessie.

After extracting Allison from Alice's sixth last hug, we left. Allison looked beautiful, but exhausted. It had been a wild day.

When Jake dropped her off, I couldn't bear to leave her. As if reading my thoughts, she asked, "Seth, do you want to sleep in the spare bedroom tonight?"

"Yes!" I said instantly, and got out of the car with her.

"Call your mom!" were Jake's parting words. He had a point, though. My mom would kill me if I didn't tell her where I was staying. Especially after the Volturi scare last night. Was it really only last night? It felt like days ago.

I ended up sleeping with Allison on her bed. I didn't mean to. I was waiting for her to finish up in the bathroom so I could kiss her goodnight, and I fell asleep on her bed. I felt her crawl onto the bed and under the covers later, but I couldn't rouse myself enough to move. I'm pretty sure she laughed a little. She cuddled into my side, and that's all I remember.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Now, I don't want to disable anonymous reviews, but I will if I have to! Please, go vote in my poll for the next story I'll be writing, and review! **


	13. A Friend Visits

**Wow! Ten reviews! I feel so loved. Or I do on the story's behalf. Anywho, family drama has seriously impeded writing efforts this week, so this chapter is kinda short and pretty bad. I'll try to update again in a week with a nice, long, juicy chapter! If you would like to encourage me more, review and vote in my poll!**

* * *

Allison's POV

I woke up in Seth's arms. It was the best feeling in the world. He groaned a little as I tried to disentangle our bodies so I could go take a shower. I needed to go see Billy Black before he went fishing with Charlie.

Two months had passed since the wolves and the Cullens had discovered what I was. So much had changed so quickly in my life.

It was strange how they welcomed both me and what I was with open arms. It had felt so good to fill the gaps in the stories for Billy and the other elders. It was even better when I told the vampires that they had a chance at heaven.

Carlisle's face was priceless when I told him how much the spirits loved him. A man who denied his very nature to help humans? The spirits could do nothing but sing his praises.

Edward's reaction had been even better. He was so surprised to learn that the spirits were pleased with him. After all, he only killed evil humans back when he fed from humans. The spirits liked that. Bella's triumphant smile when I told them said this conversation was a major part of the Bella-becoming-a-vampire debate. Before Nessie was thrown into the picture, of course.

I had gained two jobs not long after the discovery. Jacob, Quil, and Embry had been trying to open a mechanic's shop for a while now. When the shop opened, they quickly learned that they had no idea what they were doing, finance-wise. So I stepped in as their bookkeeper, secretary, and financial advisor. Jake paid me surprisingly well. He was ecstatic that he didn't have to deal with the money-aspect anymore, so he could focus on the job he loved.

About two weeks after that, Claire had come down with a nasty cold. Rika had told me about how most shamans were able to use their abilities to treat illnesses and heal people. She showed me how to make a special tea that cleared Claire's cold up in less than two hours.

After that, I became the go-to girl for anyone in La Push with a health problem. I had a special herb tea for Billy that would help his joint pain. I had a root for Old Quil to chew on when his stomach upset him. I had herb pouches to help sick children sleep at night. I had multiple other home remedies, but when I knew that the illness was too severe for me to handle (I could only deal with minor aches and pains and illnesses), I sent them to the doctor – or hospital.

I didn't get paid for this job, for which I was grateful. After all, I was here to help the Quileute tribe, not make money off of them. Jake paid me more than enough to support my quiet lifestyle.

I laughed quietly at Seth's sleeping form. He was sprawled over most of the bed, and snoring like a chainsaw. It was a good thing I'm such a heavy sleeper.

When he stayed the first night, it was like an unspoken invitation for him to unofficially move in. Most of the dressers were filled with his things. He had his own toiletries, and the sink on the left in the master bathroom (most master baths have two sinks). He still goes home every now and then to convince his mother that he hasn't moved in with me yet.

She never believes him.

Leah still lives at home, though, so Sue isn't completely alone. The spirits have been telling me that Charlie is thinking about proposing soon, so when Leah does move out, she'll still have someone with her.

After finishing my morning routine, I started on the herb packet for Billy. The pain in his joints had become unbearable recently, and aspirin wasn't working.

First in the open-weave bag was some ginger, then willow's bark and some meadowsweet. Next was extracting the bromelain from the stem of a pineapple, and adding that to the bag as well. Finally, I added some ginseng and yucca, and tied the bag up. Billy would soak the bag in boiling water and drink the mixture like a tea. It was usually effective for three or four days.

"Seth is sneaking up on you again," Juliet warned.

I giggled as Seth walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Morning, babe," he whispered in my ear.

"Good morning!" I replied cheerily.

He laughed and shook his head. "You are such a morning person," he muttered, snuggling his face into my neck.

"Yes, I am. Can I finish this before you go into snuggle mode?" I asked, unable to keep the laughter out of my voice.

"Fine," he groaned, and took a seat at the table. Then his head perked up a little and he asked, "Wait, can I get breakfast while I wait?"

"You could, but I'm already done," I said. He immediately swooped me up into his arms and began to cuddle with me. I giggled and snuggled closer. His embrace was addicting.

After ten minutes of silent cuddling at the table, I unwillingly slipped out of his arms.

"I'm sorry, babe, but I've got to drop this off at Billy's soon," I said as his face fell.

It lifted quickly, and he asked, "Mind if I go with you?"

"Go get dressed," I said, all the confirmation he needed. He rushed into my – our – bedroom. That was going to take some getting used to. Should I ask him to move in officially? He already pretty much lives here…

"Allison! I have great news!" Rika floated through the wall, dancing and generally being happy.

"What's up?" I asked curiously. Seth was used to me talking to thin air by now. He knew I was talking to the spirits, so he treated it like a phone call: he could only hear my side of the conversation, but he knew there was someone else on the other line.

"I've been trying to influence your friend Lily into going to college in Seattle, and she has it narrowed down between Washington University and UCLA. That's the best I could do, now you need to do the rest!" Rika exclaimed.

"Okay," I said and pulled out my phone. I dialed Lily's number (I knew it by heart), and she picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" It felt like years since I had heard her quiet voice. She sounded incredibly confused, probably because she didn't recognize the number on caller id.

"Lily, when your parents ask who this is, tell them it was a wrong number," I said quickly. Before I could say anything else, she interrupted me with a squeal.

"Allison! Oh my God, where have you been? Are you okay? Are you alright? What's going on?" she shrieked. I couldn't tell if she was excited or freaked out.

"I'm great, but you need to come to Seattle. Tell your parents that you're coming to view the Washington University campus or something, okay? I'll pick you up at the airport at ten tomorrow morning, okay? See you then!" I hung up, not waiting for an answer. I could only stay on the line for so long before the 'wrong number' fib would stop working.

"Thanks for the last-minute info, Juliet," I said to the tiny spirit. She had quickly discovered the next campus visit for Wash. Univ. and reported when the next airplane from Sacramento would arrive in Seattle.

"No problem!" she laughed. "After all, one of the wolves is going to imprint on her, so why wouldn't I help?"

"True," I laughed with her. Aki just stood there and shook his head at us. Silly man.

"I didn't know the spirits could tell jokes," Seth commented from the hallway. He walked into the kitchen, looking as stunning as ever.

"Of course they can," I told him, a huge smile on my face. The spirits could tell jokes, that just isn't what made me laugh.

"They weren't telling jokes, were they?" Seth smiled.

Caught. "Of course not. Why would they be telling me jokes?" I could never lie to him outright.

"What were you laughing at, if it wasn't a spirit joke?" he asked, trying – and failing – to keep a straight face.

"I'm going to Seattle tomorrow morning," I evaded blatantly. "Can you take me to the airport?"

His face instantly fell. "You're leaving?" he whispered in a tortured voice.

"Of course not!" I assured him quickly. "Lily's coming, and I didn't want her to take a cab all the way here! I could never leave you or La Push!"

He relaxed completely. "Good. And I'm more than happy to take you to pick up Lily."

"Perfect! You know, I should probably get a car soon. People might think it's strange when I go shopping for food and have invisible spirits carry everything for me," I said lightly. I actually wanted a car really badly. I got my license in California, but I never got my own car. Barnard always drove me everywhere in the family limousine. I wanted my own car, where I picked the make, the model, the color, and everything myself.

"What about Jake driving you to and from work?" Seth asked with a smile.

"Oh, he can keep doing that. I just figured I should do more to keep the secret a secret, that's all," I said as I packed my purse with everything I would need for the day. Billy's herb pouch went on top.

"Alright," Seth agreed. "We'll get you a decent car after we pick Lily up. Am I still taking you to Billy's? And is Jake still taking you to the garage?"

"Of course. I'm ready to go when you are," I smiled.

He smiled in return and said, "Then let's get going. Leah will rip me a new one if I'm late for patrol again."

Billy talked to us and distracted us when we dropped off the tea bag. He made both Seth and I very late. But Jake was late, too, and he told Seth to tell Leah not to be upset. Work was as exciting as it always was, and I couldn't wait to see Lily tomorrow.

* * *

It was a dreary, overcast day in Seattle the next morning. I had ridden on Seth's wolf-back all the way to Seattle so we wouldn't have to drive separate cars home. And I had to admit, riding on a wolf was much more fun than riding on a horse.

"I like this one, Seth. What do you think?"

We had been shopping at the car dealership for an hour now, and I couldn't decide for the life of me. Did I want a big SUV that could carry the wolves around? Did I want a sporty car that I could drive twenty miles over the speed limit at all times? Did I want a small, economical car that would get great gas mileage?

"I don't think I – or any of the other guys – are going to fit into that tiny space," Seth said carefully. We walked away from the cute little Toyota and kept looking.

The salesman was becoming so annoying it was unbearable. From the look on Seth's face, he agreed with my assessment.

"What about this 2007 Buick? Low miles, driven by a little old lady! You won't get a better car for this deal!" he said, pointing to a huge behemoth of a white car.

"Are you kidding me? Can that thing even fit in a single lane?" I asked incredulously. This guy had no idea what he was doing.

A flash of red caught my eye. I walked over to the other lane to look at a sporty little sedan. "Can I look at this one?" I asked nicely.

Seeing that he might salvage this sale, the salesman practically leaped over to me. "This is a 2008 Mazda3. Automatic, low miles, really fun to drive! Would you like to sit in it? Get a feel for the car?" He was so enthusiastic it was making me nauseous.

"Please," I replied politely. If I was nice, he might not try to make me pay too much for dragging him around all morning.

He opened the door for me, and I sat behind the wheel. It had a sporty feel, which I really liked. There was a lot more room in the cab than I thought there would be. The size of the car deceptively made the inside of the car look tiny, when it was actually quite roomy.

"Seth, why don't you sit in the passenger's seat so we can see if you'll fit?" I really hoped he fit, because I really liked this car.

Seth settled himself into the seat nicely. His head didn't scrape the ceiling (he had about half an inch of clearance), and he looked comfortable.

"Not bad," Seth said in a voice that suggested he thought it was pretty good.

I poked my head out the window and asked the salesman, "Does it come in blue?"

It was so embarrassing. My face must have been redder than a vampire's eyes. Seth kept murmuring, "You'll get the hang of it soon." That wasn't helping.

Yes, my pretty Mazda3 came in blue. It was the nicest edition of the four-door sedan. Unfortunately, it was a five-speed. Which meant manual transmission. Which meant I had to learn how to drive a stick shift.

On our way to the airport, I killed it twice. Right in the middle of traffic, of course. So, avoiding the glares of my fellow motorists, I had to start the car and try again. Twice.

Seth supposedly got me a really good deal on the car. Apparently, blue wasn't a very popular color for resale, and no one knew how to drive a stick anymore.

I got my pretty blue Mazda3 for under eleven thousand dollars. The salesman's face was priceless when I whipped out a debit card to pay for the car in full.

We were waiting patiently at the airport now, sitting near the baggage claim area.

"For your first time driving a stick, you did really well," Seth said for the umpteenth time.

"Sure I did," I replied, the same reply as every other time he had said that.

"She's almost here! Lily is on her way now to baggage claim!" Rika exclaimed excitedly.

"You know, I'm very glad I'm dead," Aki said.

"Why?" Rika asked.

"Because you would be the death of me otherwise."

"You love me anyways."

"True."

I tried to stifle my giggling, but Seth's questioning glance told me I wasn't doing a very good job.

Then I saw Lily running towards us, and I forgot about whatever I was laughing at. We hugged and did the girly squeal that made Seth cover his ears.

We ended up making Seth drive home so Lily and I could talk in the back seat. She told me about her parents' latest vacation, and her sister's wedding, and her indecision with colleges. I told her about La Push's amazing views and the new family that had adopted me. I told her about my shopping trips with Alice, and she didn't believe anyone could be that… ridiculously obsessed with shopping. She would learn.

When we pulled up to my little cabin, Lily squealed.

"Oh my God, it's so adorable! It looks like it just fell out of a fairytale!" Lily oohed and ahhed over my house while Seth opened the door for me.

"I feel like a chauffeur," he muttered, but he was smiling as he said it.

"Then you're a very sexy chauffeur," I told him with a smile of my own.

"Oh, please, you two wait until I'm asleep," Lily complained.

Seth and I just laughed as we made our way into my home.

* * *

**Well, that was pretty bad. I'll update soon, but in the meantime, review and vote in my poll! We have a tie right now for the story I will be writing after Soul Singer, and I really want to know what you, my readers, want to read about!**


	14. An Enemy Visits

**Alright, I got ten reviews for chapter twelve... and four for chapter thirteen. I know it wasn't that good, but seriously! Tell me what was wrong with it! Plus, we have a perfect tie between two fo the story ideas on my poll. Go fix it, please! Also, the tea bag for Billy in the previous chapter DOES NOT WORK! I made it up out of herbs I heard helped with pain. DO NOT USE IT! Please review when you're done reading! This is a major chapter!**

* * *

Seth's POV

She was up to something. That much was obvious.

She would glance at me, then at Lily, and smile that smile that said she knew something we didn't. What she was up to was the mystery. Or the spirits were up to something, and she was in on it.

This shaman thing made life a lot more confusing.

We had just finished breakfast, and Ali still had that _knowing_ look on her face. It was starting to freak me out.

"You have to meet Emily and the other girls today, Lily. You'll just love them. Everyone will be at Emily's house at some point today. We should go over there so you can meet everyone!"

My head whipped up to stare at my beautiful imprint. Did I hear her right? She couldn't take Lily to Emily's house! What about the secret? Wolves and imprints came and went at all hours of the day, even though Sam had stopped phasing. It was so ingrained in our minds that the Uley house was "home" that we couldn't break ourselves of the habit.

"That sounds great! Let me go get changed," Lily said, and she rushed to the guest bedroom.

I turned to Allison, but before I could say anything, she cut me off.

"Everything happens for a reason, Seth."

Her voice took an odd tone when she did her crazy shaman "I know more than you do, I am infinitely wise" thing. It wasn't like the Alpha's double timbre voice that we had to obey. It was a subtle shift in her voice, one that let those around her know that Allison was more than just an imprint. It was soft and compelling, a different kind of power. But it was just as powerful as the Alpha voice, if not more so.

"What about the secret?" I asked, hoping to glean more information.

"Everything has been taken into account, Seth. The spirits want her there within the hour, so that's where she'll be," Allison said in that soft, implacable voice.

"Should I go warn everyone?" At least let us prepare the others, so it's not a complete shock.

"It would be better if you didn't," she said simply. "I need to go get ready."

With that, she gracefully rose from her seat at the table and walked to her room. Our room, if I had anything to say about it. Had she figured out I was trying to move in yet? I pretty much lived here already. Maybe I should just ask…

I tried to figure out what the best course of action would be for the living-arrangements predicament, but I was no closer to an answer than when I started.

Lily emerged from the guest room a few minutes later, dressed and ready to go. She looked excited. Allison wasn't far behind, looking stunning in a blue tank top, black skinny jeans, and a stylish white coat. At least, I thought it was stylish. I'm no expert when it comes to clothes.

Allison had an unreadable expression on her face as we drove to Sam's house. It was calm and revealed nothing. Lily, on the other hand, was an open book. She looked excited as we started out, but got more and more terrified as we got closer to our destination.

Allison had mastered the stick shift overnight. She no longer popped the clutch, grinded gears, or anything. It was a smooth, perfect drive. She probably got the spirits to help her. Cheater.

As we pulled up to the Uley house, Lily's panic hit its peak.

"Are you sure we can just stop by like this? Maybe we should come back some other time. Or, we could –"

"Lily, that's enough," Allison laughed, cutting her friend off. "We stop by like this all the time. Sam and Emily love it, trust me."

There was a flash in my imprint's eyes that said there was more to that statement. I gave her a look that said I knew what she was up to. She returned my look with an even stare. But the flash in her eyes earlier had been replaced with a sparkle of happiness. Whatever she was doing was for the good of… someone.

Lily's eyes widened when we didn't even knock on the front door. She looked like she was going to faint.

"Hi, Emily!" Allison hurried into the kitchen to hug the pack's surrogate mother. Lily's eyes widened even more when she saw Emily's scars, but she didn't say a word. She was probably too freaked out to speak.

"It's so good to see you, Ali! Who is this?" Emily asked with a huge smile.

"This is my friend Lily, from California," Allison introduced her. "Lily, this is Emily Uley."

"It's wonderful to meet you," Emily said, still smiling. Lily nodded, clearly unable to speak still.

"Whatcha cooking, Em?" I asked eagerly. I knew she was cooking muffins for Embry and Brady, who would be returning from their patrol in a few minutes.

"Muffins, go ahead and have some," Emily said, clearly talking to Lily, not me. "But save some for Embry and Brady. They'll be here soon."

"Brady?" Lily squeaked.

"Don't you remember Brady, Lily? He was with Seth during the field trip. He was mostly hitting on Veronica," Allison reminded her.

"I remember," Lily whispered. I didn't remember Lily being this terrified during the field trip. Then again, my attention was focused on another girl that weekend.

Allison and Emily started a conversation up about… well, I wasn't really paying attention, but Lily slowly began to relax. I think they were talking about some chick flick that came out recently.

I wondered briefly how Lily would react to Embry and Brady showing up and devouring all the food. She seemed to be afraid of Brady. Had he done anything to upset her during the field trip?

When Embry and Brady walked in a few minutes later, I was surprised. Actually, I was shocked.

Because Lily waved a hand in greeting towards my pack brothers… and Embry couldn't take his eyes off her. He looked stunned, like a man who had been stumbling through a desert without food or water for days, and was suddenly in an oasis with a buffet of his favorite foods. Like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.

I looked at Allison, my beautiful, amazing imprint. Her eyes shone with pride and happiness. She had known this was going to happen.

"Lily, this is Embry, one of our friends here on the rez. Embry, this is my friend Lily from Sacramento," Allison introduced them. Embry couldn't seem to move.

Lily, however, was doing just fine. "Hi, it's great to meet you," she said, standing up and holding out a hand for him to shake. Embry shook it carefully, like she was made of glass.

"Lily, I was planning on taking you to see First Beach once we were done here, but Emily needs my help here. Embry, could you take her? You know this town far better than I do, anyways," Ali mentioned oh-so casually.

"That sounds great!" Lily exclaimed. She turned to Embry. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Of course not," Embry managed to say. Lily gently took Embry's hand and led him outside, talking about the book she was currently reading.

Emily glared at my cunning imprint playfully. "You had that whole thing planned out, didn't you?"

"Not the whole thing," Ali said with a grin. "I didn't plan on Embry going mute."

The two girls laughed. The more I thought about it, the more I realized Lily and Embry would be perfect together. They were both shy, and they both loved books. There was more to relationships than that, but it was a good place to start.

"God damn imprinting," Brady muttered, grabbed a muffin, and walked outside, cursing under his breath.

Ali's laughter cut off, and she had a far off look in her eyes. The kind of look she gets when communicating with the spirits.

"Sorry to cut the visit short, but I need to get back to my house," she smiled apologetically to Emily. She turned to me. "Seth, why don't you stay here for a little bit? I'm sure Brady will be back soon, and he'll want someone to talk to."

"I think I'll just go back with you…" I began, but she cut me off.

"No, you should stay here," she said in the hard, unforgiving shaman voice.

I looked at her closely, trying to see what she was trying to hide. "Call me as soon as you get there," I asked/demanded. This was the biggest concession I would get out of her this time.

"Of course," she said. "I'll see you later, Emily. Seth, be safe."

She kissed me lightly, and walked out. I wasn't letting her go alone. I would follow in wolf form in five minutes.

"You aren't honestly letting her go home alone, are you?" Emily asked, worry and fear in her eyes.

"Hell no."

* * *

Allison's POV

Once I was in my car, I started racing towards home. Aki and Harry had helped me master the stick shift last night during my nightly spirit walk, so I had no problem with my car anymore.

"Are you sure?" I asked my spirit guides one more time, hoping against hope that they were wrong.

"Yes," Aki confirmed my fears. "Patrick followed Lily here. He knew you would reach out to her at some point, and this was too short-notice to be involved with the college."

Patrick was here. Patrick was headed for my house. Patrick, the evil prince from my old life, was here to crash my fairytale life. Lily and Embry had finally met, and they were getting along great. Lily already knew Embry was her soul mate. I could see it in her eyes.

Why did Patrick have to come and ruin it all?

"Seth just left Emily's," Juliet informed me. This wasn't a surprise. He would know something was up, and he would follow me.

I told him to stay at Emily's in order to buy myself a little time. Because if Seth found out about Patrick, there would be a fight. And Patrick would lose.

Which was fine by me. Patrick was even crueler than my father, and deserved a painful death, but I didn't want Seth to get in trouble with the law – or the media. If Seth hurt Patrick, the California press would be all over it, and our quiet, wonderful life here would be destroyed. And Seth would probably go to jail. That was the biggest problem.

Once I got home, I waited on my front porch. I didn't bother finding a seat. Patrick wasn't far away. Seth was waiting silently in the woods, probably wondering what was going on.

Then a giant black SUV pulled up, and I couldn't help but glare.

The driver rushed out of his seat to open the door for his passenger. Patrick stepped out of the car with a flourish, looking absolutely ridiculous.

Patrick was a handsome man, if you found cruel, skinny monsters attractive. He flipped his long, stringy black hair out of his long, plain face with a too-large nose. He looked at me like he had finally found his cell phone, or some other insignificant thing he thought he wanted.

"Allison! It's so good to see you!" he gushed, sounding too much like a rat with a disease.

"I can't say the same," I replied, no emotion in my voice.

"How can you greet your fiancé that way?" he asked in a hurt voice that was as false as everything else in the boy.

"You aren't my fiancé. You asked my father for my hand, and he agreed. I didn't," I replied coldly. I couldn't force myself to remain civil. I just wanted him gone. Seth's low growl from the forest only increased my desire for my past to go back to California.

"Why have we not killed him yet?" Rika asked, an uncharacteristic rage coloring her usually happy voice.

_Because it would draw too much attention to me here,_ I answered silently. _We don't want the press looking too closely at this part of Washington._

"Fine," Rika sighed, clearly disappointed.

"I'm hurt, Allison," Patrick whined.

_Not yet, but you will be,_ I thought.

"You need to come home, Allison," Patrick continued. "Your father has already won the election, thanks to your disappearance. A missing daughter was the perfect publicity stunt, but now you need to come home. We've already started planning the wedding, and you're going to love it. It's –"

"Not happening," I snarled. I couldn't contain my rage anymore. "Patrick, I'm not marrying you. I will never marry you. I will kill myself before I submit myself to the hell that would be a life with you."

"Now, Allison," he tried to reason, but I cut him off.

"I despise you. I despise the life I had in Sacramento. I love my life here. I have a man here who cares about me, instead of my last name and social connections. I _love_ him, more than life itself. There is nothing you can do or say that can change my mind," I stated firmly.

Patrick's easy-going manner vanished. Now, he was red in the face with anger. "You are coming home with me tonight, Allison! You owe this to your family, and to me!"

"She owes you nothing."

Seth came up behind me, trying to hide his absolute hatred for the man in front of us.

"You will not force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. If you try, I will tear you to pieces," Seth snarled. I could see him shaking. It must be taking a Herculean effort to stay human right now.

"What a brute! Allison, you can't mean this is the man you've chosen! I mean, what a savage!" Patrick exclaimed.

My rage overtook me once again. "You will never insult him again," I said clearly and slowly, rage making my voice shake. "He loves me, and I love him. There is nothing else that matters more to me in this world than him."

"You've got to be joking!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Leave," I said sadly. "There's nothing for you here."

"Bullshit," Patrick snarled. Seth snarled in response, and his was a lot more impressive. Patrick looked scared, but he quickly recovered.

"I'm warning you, Allison, you better…" he trailed off as sirens slowly got louder.

"Seth called Charlie earlier, saying there was a trespasser on your property, and neither you nor Old Quil wanted him here," Aki reported proudly.

We were silent when Charlie pulled up in his police cruiser, his deputy Mark riding shot gun.

When Charlie stopped the cruiser, he got out quickly and said to Patrick, "Sir, you need to leave. This is private property."

"I'm not leaving until _she_ comes with me," he shouted, pointing at me.

"Last time I checked, she was eighteen and has a full-time job. She can do whatever she damn well pleases," Charlie said harshly. He was definitely picking up on the Patrick's-a-monster vibe.

"She's _coming with me_!" Patrick shouted.

"Sir, either you leave now, or we arrest you for trespassing and disturbing the peace," Charlie said in the same harsh tone.

"Fine, but this is not over! Allison, you better come back to Sacramento soon, or I'm coming back here for you!" Patrick screeched as he got in his SUV and drove away.

As soon as he was out of sight, Seth grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug. "Are you okay? Are you alright?" he kept asking over and over.

"I'm fine, Seth, I'm fine," I kept reassuring him.

"Allison," Charlie started. "I don't want you staying alone here anymore. It's not safe."

"Alright," I agreed quickly. "Seth, will you move in with me?"

He looked surprised. "Sure! Of course! I'd love to! I-"

"I'll be fine, Charlie," I assured the chief of police. "Seth has been trying to sneak-move-in for a week now, anyways."

"I –" Seth began to deny it, but stopped when he realized no one would believe him. "Okay, it's completely true."

"Alright, but you don't go anywhere alone," Charlie insisted.

"I'll never be alone," I assured him. I had a pack of wolf shape-shifters and a score of spirits ready to defend me. Patrick couldn't touch me if he tried.

"Take care of her, Seth," Charlie ordered, and was on his way.

* * *

Seth's POV

Later that evening, I waited for Allison to get out of the shower. I had decided that there was a lot about her life in Sacramento that she didn't want to tell me – but there were some things I had to know in order to protect her.

I was sitting on the bed when she walked into her – our – room. She was wearing one of my old shirts as a nightgown, and it was a beautiful sight. She cuddled up next to me, sighing with pleasure. I was going to ruin that pleasure, that happiness, but I needed to know.

And I was going to find out. Tonight.

* * *

**Oh, cliffhanger! I'm so sorry! I mean, it's only a small cliffhanger, so it's okay. After all, you all know what Seth is going to find out. So please, review to let me know what you think or to give me suggestions! And please go vote on my poll! Thanks so much, you're all wonderful readers!**


	15. Hard Truths

**Chapter fifteen! Woo! I hate to say it, but we're getting towards the end of this fanfic! I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to make this story, so everyone needs to go vote in my poll about the next story I'll write. We have a serious tie still, and I want you to decide on what you want to read! So please, go vote whe you're finished with this chapter!**

**Another thing: a review told me that Allison was a bitchy Mary-Sue, so I'm trying to give Allison a few flaws. I absolutely hate Mary-Sues, so I don't want to write one.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Ellena Whitaker! She started reading the fic recently, and, except for chapter two, has reviewed _every single chapter!_ This one is for you!**

* * *

Seth's POV

Allison was tucked into my side while we laid in bed. Her fingers were tracing little patterns on my stomach. She refused to look me in the eye. Those things meant she was nervous. She knew what I was going to ask, and she either didn't want to talk about it – or she didn't want to talk about it with me.

"Ali," I started, staring at the ceiling. I would lose my resolve if I looked at her face. "I need to know… who was that douche bag? What is going on? What happened here today?"

"I… it's a long story," she whispered. A normal person wouldn't have been able to hear her speak so quietly.

"We've got time," I replied succinctly. I was still staring at the ceiling. She sounded so sad, so upset… I couldn't see that, or I would give into her wishes and drop the subject. But her safety depended on the knowledge she was reluctant to give me, so I continued.

"You need to tell me what is going on, Ali," I said quietly. "I need to know. You can't hide these kinds of secrets from me without some trust being lost."

She whimpered softly, and it took everything in me to keep looking at the ceiling.

"I know," she gasped out, like she had been running a marathon. "I should have told you as soon as I came here, but… I left that part of my life behind when I left Sacramento. I was hoping that it would never come back to haunt me."

"It has," I said, as calmly as I could manage. "So I need to know. You need to tell me."

"Okay," she whispered. I was actually going to get my answers? That wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

"Patrick… Patrick is the boy my parents want me to marry," she said quickly, stumbling slightly over the words.

I froze.

"What?" I hissed. "You hate him! It was obvious while you were talking to him! Why would your parents want you to marry a guy you can't stand?"

"My father never wanted me to marry for love," she said simply. "To him, everything is about social connections. He's a state senator in California. That's why we live in Sacramento; it's the state capital. He's a career politician, so the only thing that matters to him is reelection. My mother is pretty much his trophy wife for the media and the voters. I was his trophy daughter."

"How could… how could he…" I was stunned. I didn't understand what she was saying at all. How could a father do that to his daughter? Why would he condemn her to a life of misery with a husband she hates for his own personal gain? It made no sense.

"I know, Seth," she whispered, and wrapped her arms around me. I gave up trying to look at the ceiling, and wrapped myself around her as well. She looked so upset, so… I couldn't even name the emotions that she must be experiencing right now.

I just held her, and gave her what silent comfort I could.

She pulled her head up a few minutes later to face me.

"Seth?" She sounded so quiet, so unsure. I hated it.

"You wanted to know everything, so… I need to tell you everything now. If I don't do it now, I'll lose my nerve, and it's better to get this all out of the way at once, don't you think?" she said hurriedly.

"Yeah," was all I could say.

"Well… I'm going to give you a few more reasons to hate my father," she said.

"What else could the bastard have done?" I yelled. It wasn't possible for me to hate the monster any more than I did now. I wasn't capable of that kind of rage.

"Now, I want to say this now so you don't freak out later, okay?" She waited for my silent nod. "My father has never physically hurt me. Never."

I heard the word she slipped in oh-so casually. Physically. Which meant mentally and emotionally, he _had_ hurt her. Which was enough for me to want the bastard hurt physically.

"He liked to beat the servants that worked in our house when he got angry, or when things didn't go exactly right," she said quietly. "He did even worse to the female servants."

He _raped_ them? Her father was a _rapist?_ Was I reading what she said right?

"The night I left Sacramento…" she began cautiously. She had a right to be cautious. I was shaking right now, very badly. It was a good thing I was so good at reading Ali's face, or I might not have believed her when she said her father never hurt her.

"I left that night because my father was beating the cook. I don't know why, but it was bad that time – very bad. He had never been like that before, and I knew then that I had to get away… and I knew I could come to you," she said, staring at me like I was her personal miracle.

"So I left, and I haven't looked back since," she finished, looking incredibly relieved that her story was over.

"It's okay," I whispered to her. "You never have to go back. Never."

"I know. I'm so happy here, Seth. This life with you is everything I could ever want," she said with a smile, but then it faded. "But Patrick wasn't joking. He's going to come back, and he's probably going to bring my father with him. They're going to try to force me to go back to that hell."

"They can't force you to do anything," I hissed.

"With the wolf pack and my spirits? There isn't a damn thing they can physically make me do. But they might try to persuade me by trying to hurt someone here. We have to put the wolves on alert. I already have the spirits patrolling the area, plus a few spying on Patrick and my father. They can't do anything without me knowing, but I think the wolves should know, just in case," she said.

"I agree," I said. "I'll let Jake and the others know tomorrow morning. Right now, we need some sleep. It was a rough day."

She laughed lightly. "Rough doesn't even begin to describe it."

She tucked herself back into my side, and we wrapped our arms around each other. With my Ali safely in my arms, I fell asleep.

* * *

Allison's POV

I woke up that morning feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I couldn't believe I had kept the truth from Seth for so long. I felt horrible about it. What kind of girlfriend hides those kinds of secrets from her boyfriend? To answer my own question, a bad one.

Seth was still asleep next to me, so I gently slipped out of bed and went to get ready for the day.

Seth didn't wake up until I got out of the shower. He usually slept in until I got out of my usual morning shower. It was a routine for us. He had been living with me officially for less than twenty-four hours, and we already had a routine.

"What's the schedule for today?" Seth asked. Aki had asked this earlier, so I had an answer.

"Well, first we need to get a pack meeting going, and tell everyone about the incident yesterday. Then, we tell them that… _they_… might be coming back, so everyone should be on their guard. After that, we have to take Lily to the airport," I said sadly.

"That's right," Seth said quietly. "Lily has to go home today. Poor Embry…"

I jumped on the bed and hugged Seth tightly. "They'll have it rough, but she'll be back soon, trust me."

"Okay, it's just… I know how it feels to go without your imprint for a long time. Long distance relationships are the worst kind of relationships ever," he said in the same sad tone.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, nuzzling my face into his neck. "But I'm here now, and I'm never leaving. That's what's important."

"I know. And you have no idea how happy you've made me by being here. I just feel so bad for them," Seth said.

"Everything will work out," I promised.

"I hope so," he whispered.

Two hours later, we were sitting in the Uley's house, surrounded by the pack, the elders, and the imprints. I had just finished my little story, and Seth was explaining our theory that my father and Patrick would be coming after me, and might terrorize the reservation to get me to leave.

"You're joking, right?" Leah sneeringly asked.

"Leah," Sue said in a warning tone.

"Why would we joke about something like this, Leah?" I asked in return. This would be a terrible joke! This is the complete opposite of funny.

"Oh my God, it's another Bella," Leah muttered under her breath. She said the next bit a little louder. "You don't care about anyone but yourself, do you? You're willing to put the whole tribe at risk! And you've been lying to us about all of this since we met you! How do you even sleep at night?"

"Don't you dare say I don't care about this tribe!" I said in the same angry tone. "This is the first real home I've ever had! I'd do anything for this place and the people who invited me into their family!"

"Then why are you still here?" Leah asked quietly. "You're the only reason your family would want to come here. If you leave, everyone else is safe."

I slumped in my seat in shock as Leah walked out of the house. She was completely right. How could I put my new family at risk just so I could stay here? It wasn't right. It wasn't fair to ask them to protect me.

"Don't listen to her, Ali," Seth whispered to me, even though everyone could hear him, everything was so silent.

"Of course," I replied, not really paying attention. He imprinted on me. Of course he would say something like that. He would say anything if it got me to stay.

"I need to consult with the spirits," I lied, and without a second glance at anyone in the room, I walked out of the house.

I drove home, barely paying attention to the road. My house looked just as quaint and welcoming as it always did when I pulled up. It was strange how fast things could change.

I ran inside and collapsed on my bed. I could still smell Seth's woodsy scent on the bedspread, and it made me want to cry.

I rolled onto my back so I could face my spirits.

"Don't you even think about leaving," Rika said firmly.

"I'll be the first to say that Leah doesn't really think well when she's angry," Death said calmly. "Don't base decisions on what she just said. She will regret her words later, trust me."

"Leaving would be the worst idea, ever!" Juliet proclaimed. "Not just for Seth, but for everyone else you've met here and have come to call family! Family doesn't abandon family. Anyone here could tell you that."

"They need you, Allison," Aki declared. "If you decide to walk away, we will help you in any way that we can. But hear the wisdom we give: you are a part of this family now, and they will not let you leave without a fight."

"I just – I just don't know what to do!" I gasped out. I knew there was no way I could leave my family behind… but how could I let them be put in danger because of me?

"Allison," Harry said quietly. "Like Taha Aki said, we will support your decision, no matter what you decide. But, no matter what, your father and Patrick will come here in order to find you. When they discover you aren't here, and they can't find you, what do you think they'll do?"

"They'll track me down wherever I chose to run to," I answered immediately.

"And if they can't track you down? They'll turn their rage onto the people here," Harry said. "So stay here and fight. For once in your life, don't run away and hope your problems remain in your past. Let's fight them, together. With the spirits and the wolves, we can get rid of them without anyone getting hurt."

"I hope you're right, Harry. I truly hope you're right," I whispered, because I couldn't leave after that. There was no way I can walk away from this place that has become my home.

"We're going to fight my idiot relatives until they leave and never come back," I said with more conviction. Everyone looked relieved and happy.

"Finally!" Juliet exclaimed. "That took a lot more convincing than it should have."

"I don't know what to say to that," I said honestly.

"Good, because Seth is here with Leah. She wants to apologize," Death said happily.

"Oh, and she doesn't have any clothes. Hers ripped when she transformed when she left," Rika laughed. I grabbed a T-shirt and cut-off jean shorts that I thought would fit her, and headed outside.

Seth ran up the steps to me, a brilliant smile on his face. "Hey, Ali, you look better than when you left."

"I feel better, too. Here, these are for Leah," I said, handing him the clothes. "She's out in the woods, right?"

Seth eyed me. "It's creepy when you do that," he commented.

"Blame the spirits," I said, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Now, go get Leah. I heard she wants to talk to me some more."

"She's not here to yell at you anymore, I swear! She just –"

"Go get her, Seth!" I laughed. He was so sweet.

He ran into the woods with my offering of clothes. He reemerged with Leah two minutes later. She walked up to me, looking very guilty.

"Look, Allison, I know I said some things that were uncalled for," she began, "and I really regret what I said. I think you should stick around. I just… everyone seems to like you, because you're so sweet and innocent and wonderful, and I guess I was a little jealous. What I'm trying to say is I don't want you to leave. You should stay. This is where you belong."

I smiled. Leah envied me?

"Leah, I understand completely, and I'm not leaving," I said softly. "To be perfectly honest, _I_ envy _you_. You're so strong, no one can push you around and you don't run from anything. Nothing scares you. All of my life, I've run away from my problems, and they just keep coming back. So I want to be like you, and put the past to rest."

Leah blinked, looking completely shocked. "Oh, um, okay. Sorry, but people try to be the opposite of me, so that's… unexpected. But… I guess I'm glad you're going to be my sister-in-law eventually. I don't think I could stand any of the other imprints."

"Good to hear!" I laughed. "I'm glad I'm going to be a Clearwater, too."

"You're not the only ones!" Harry shouted.

"I know, Harry, you've told me plenty of times," I couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't crossing over specifically so he could see his grandchildren, so it was kind of obvious that he would want me in the family.

"What?" both Seth and Leah gasped. Both of their faces were frozen in shock, staring at me.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I asked, completely embarrassed. I never told anyone about any other spirits besides Taha Aki and Anna Rika.

They nodded their heads silently.

"I'm sorry, keeping secrets from you guys is a really bad habit," I said. "But, yes, your father is here. He decided he didn't want to miss watching you two grow up, so he is going to stay in this world."

"Dad's here? Right now?" Seth whispered. I could see tears building up in his eyes. Leah was about to cry, too.

"Yes. He loved you – and Sue – too much to just leave," I said quietly. "And he is happy about Sue and Charlie. He always wanted Charlie to move on after Renee, he just wasn't expecting it to be his wife. He's fine with it, though, because both of them are happy."

Suddenly, I was being hugged tightly by the two siblings. Leah broke off quickly though.

"I – I need to run. I just… I need to run," she gasped out, and ran for the woods.

Seth continued to hold me tightly. "She just needs some time, Ali. She's just as happy as I am, but she needs some time."

"I know. Just… let her know, sometime, that she'll get her happy ending soon, Seth," I whispered into his shoulder.

We kept holding one another like that for a long time. I wasn't even sure how long until my cell phone started buzzing.

I gently pulled a hand free from Seth so I could answer it. "Hello?"

"Allison, where are you? My plane leaves soon, we've gotta get moving if I'm going to catch it!" Lily said urgently. The world came back to Seth and I.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, Lily. Are we bringing Embry with us?" I asked.

"Yes! Of course! I'm not spending a minute without him when I don't have to!"

I laughed a little. "Good to hear. Be there soon." I hung up and looked at Seth.

"We need to get going," I said gently.

He stared into my eyes for a few seconds. It always made me feel like he was staring at my soul when he did that.

"Then let's get going."

We loaded Lily's luggage into my car, and went back to Sam's and Emily's house to pick up the newest imprinted couple. They both looked completely depressed. Lily had some hope, though.

As we got onto the highway, Lily started telling us about what we had missed.

"Allison, why didn't you tell me about all of this werewolf stuff? It's amazing! You know how badly I wanted this stuff to be real, and now it is! I really am in a fairytale. I even got my own Prince Charming! I never have to worry about him cheating on me, or not thinking I'm pretty enough, or any of that stuff! It's so relieving."

She continued on like that for most of the car ride, usually in response to some mythical tidbit Embry had forgotten to tell her earlier.

Nothing changed until about an hour away from Seattle, when Juliet rushed to fly next to the car.

"Allison, promise me you won't freak out!" she shouted.

"Why?" I asked, oblivious to the fact that Lily wasn't used to me talking to thin air. Embry was quietly explaining my abilities to her.

"Patrick is waiting for you at the airport! And your father is with him!"

My heart stopped. "What? Are you sure? What do I do? I didn't think I was going to have to face him so soon! I thought I would have more time to prepare! I –"

"Ali!" Seth shouted to get my attention. "What's going on?"

"My father and Patrick are at the airport," I gasped out.

"Oh no!" Lily cried out. "Did the spirits tell you? Are they sure?"

"Yes, they're sure," I whispered. I tried to pay attention to the road. Thankfully, not many people were on the highway right now.

"It's okay, Ali," Seth reassured me. "You're just going to have to face them earlier than we thought. You can do this. I know you can."

"I sure hope so," I whispered as we raced down the highway towards a clash that my family had been spiraling towards for years.

* * *

**I'm sorry! That's a real cliffhanger this time! I didn't plan it, it just seemed like a good place to stop. If you would like me to update faster, review and vote in my poll, please! Thank you all for reading!**


	16. Confrontation and a Decision

**I'm both excited and sad to say this but this is the last chapter! It didn't take as long to write as I thought it would, and now we only have the epilogue left. This chapter is kind of short, but the epilogue is pretty long to make up for it. I have an important author's note at the end of this chapter, so please read it! It's crucial to my next story. So read and review, and thank you for making this journey with me!**

* * *

Seth's POV

Allison was freaking out. Her face had paled to sheet white, and her eyes were wide and fearful. Her knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I wondered briefly how much she was driving the car, and how much the spirits were guiding it.

Embry looked the same way I felt: worried but determined. After all, Ali was Lily's friend. Protecting Ali meant protecting Lily's heart.

Lily was… well, frightening in her intensity. She looked like she could take on the two monsters on her own. She had seemed so… breakable when I first met her. Like any negative comment would shatter her soul. Now she seemed unstoppable. Ali said Embry had brought on this big change. Having a soul mate like Embry made her feel confident.

When the airport finally loomed in front of us, Ali whimpered. I took her hand and rubbed it soothingly, hoping to encourage her. We parked in the enormous concrete lot and walked towards the main building.

Ali didn't let go of my hand. She schooled her face into an expression of calm assurance. I knew the emotions on her face were lies because she still had my hand in a death grip.

Our group walked confidently into the main entranceway, where the two monsters were waiting for us. Patrick, the little prick, looked as calm and arrogant as ever. The man that I assumed was Ali's father, Alan Silverton, waited next to him, all upset with puffed-up indignation. They had four bodyguards in black suits surrounding them.

That seemed like overkill to me. Do you really need four bodyguards to catch a nineteen year old girl like my Ali? Sure, she's a shaman and you would need thousands of bodyguards to catch her now, but when they knew her she was just a regular girl.

Then again, Patrick probably realized I wouldn't let him take her. So the guards are probably for me.

Ali looked calm, confident, and a little pissed off. Her head was held high in defiance. She still had my hand in a grip that would break a normal human's hand.

"Father, Patrick," she acknowledged them haughtily. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your unwanted presence in my life?"

"Young Patrick here found you," her father answered, trying to sound loving and reassuring. He was failing. "We're here to take you home, Allison, where you belong."

"My home is here, Father. I belong here in Washington, with my fiancé," she snapped angrily.

"Fiancé?" her father gasped. "You must be joking! You're engaged to Patrick!"

"No, I turned Patrick down," Allison said angrily. "Everyone just seemed to forget that. I hate Patrick, and I will never spend another minute of my time with him."

"Allison, I know you're confused right now," Patrick said in a placating voice, "but you need to come home. I love you, and I want to marry you as soon as possible. We'll throw a big wedding, and we'll be happy together. Don't throw your life away with some savage that wouldn't know how to act at a dinner party if his life depended on it. You need to come home."

How big of an ass was this guy? I wanted to rip him to pieces right then and there, but Allison was holding my hand too tight. She needed me by her side more right now.

"First of all," Allison began, "no one has called Native Americans 'savages' since the nineteenth century. Second of all, I am NOT confused. I know exactly where I want to be, and it is here in Washington. Third of all, I don't love you, I'll never marry you, and I could never be happy with you. So go back to Sacramento, find a nice socialite to marry, and forget about me. Because I will never want anything to do with you again."

"Allison! Apologize to your fiancé right now!" Alan Silverton was red in the face with rage.

"Alright, Father," Allison smiled and turned to me. "Darling, I'm sorry about all of this. My family is quite rude, and Patrick doesn't seem to know when to let go. Forgive me?"

I laughed internally, but smiled back at her said, "Of course." I pulled her hand up to my lips and kissed her hand gently. Her smile became genuine.

"HE IS NOT YOUR FIANCE! PATRICK IS!" Her father was losing it. His daughter was happy, but he couldn't care less. It was so… infuriating… I…

Allison squeezed my hand, and I realized I was about to phase. I looked into her emerald eyes until I calmed down enough. I realized her father was still screaming, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Allison was happy now, and that was all that mattered.

"Father… Patrick… just go home. I'm staying here, and short of kidnapping me, there is nothing you can do to make me go with you," Allison told them calmly. I don't know how much of that sentence her father heard, but Patrick heard it loud and clear. He looked furious.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises," a security guard had approached Alan Silverton with a hand on his taser.

While he struggled and screamed at the airport security guards, Lily quickly hugged Allison.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now if I'm going to make my flight," Lily whispered to her friend.

"Call me when you land. Safe trip," Allison whispered back.

"I'll be right back," Embry said roughly. This goodbye was going to tear him apart. Allison had insisted that Lily wouldn't be gone long, so there was nothing I could do but reassure him. But first, we had to end this… feud with Allison's old life for good.

The security guards ended up dragging Alan Silverton out of the airport. He was making quite a scene, and more than one person had their camera phone out. _That_ wasn't going to look good during elections.

"GET HER BACK, PATRICK! IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU'LL GET HER BACK!" he screamed as they threw him out.

"You can't," Allison said calmly. "There isn't a damned thing you can do to make me stay in this hell. I'm leaving, and I hope you have a good life, Patrick, because it won't be with me."

Patrick looked furious, but then it faded into sadness. "Fine, Allison. It's your life to do with as you please. Ruin it however you want," Patrick said sadly.

"Thank you, for understanding," I said. He was giving up. Allison was finally free.

"You know, Patrick," Allison said slyly, "you might want to look up my old friend Veronica. I think the two of you would be perfect together."

"Veronica Worthington? She is damn fine looking. I could live with that," Patrick laughed. "Won't she look pretty on the campaign trail?"

He continued to laugh as he gathered his goons and left to find Alan Silverton.

"Don't you feel bad? Shoving Patrick onto your friend? I mean, the guy is a douche bag," I asked, confused.

"I don't think she was ever my friend, Seth," Allison replied sadly. "I think she wanted to be my friend for the same reasons that Patrick wanted to marry me. They both only care about status, so they'll be perfect together. Plus, I think Veronica is the only woman who can take on Patrick and win."

"Right. Well, here's hoping for the best. Shall we go find Embry before he kills himself?" I suggested lightly.

Her face fell. "Yes, we should find him. The spirits are worried about him, Seth."

My humorous feelings vanished. "I can smell him, he's this way."

We found Embry collapsed on a bench, tears running down his face. "It hurts so badly without her here, Seth. How did you do this for a whole year? It feels like my chest is caving in."

He kept mumbling things like that while Ali and I helped him get to the car. I heard Ali whisper "Is there anything you can do to help him sleep?" and Embry started snoring lightly five minutes later. The drive back to La Push was quiet. I don't think there was anything to say right then.

We took Embry to Emily and Sam's place; they would know how to help him better than his mom right now. It was late, so we didn't stay long, and just went home.

Ali and I got ready for bed together, not saying a word until we were cuddled up in bed.

She looked at me with her big green eyes and said, "Did all of that really just happen?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I finally told my father and Patrick to get lost… and they did. They're finally going to leave me alone, and let me live my own life. It just doesn't seem real," she whispered.

"It is real," I whispered back happily. "We're living together in this house, and no one is coming to take it away. They will never bother or hurt you again."

She was quiet for a few minutes, but then she asked, "When did you want to get married?"

"As soon as possible," I answered immediately. Was she serious? Did she really want to marry me? The very thought made my heart want to leap out of chest with excitement and joy.

"Then we'll tell Alice the good news in the morning. Everyone said she planned Bella and Edward's wedding, and that she did a beautiful job. I think she would like it if we let her plan our wedding," Ali said.

"Just make sure you have no second thoughts about this. Once Alice has her mind set on something, it happens, and she _will_ force you down the aisle if that's what it takes," I warned my unsuspecting imprint.

"Trust me, I'm not changing my mind about _any_ of this. Especially you," she whispered happily.

"Then we have a date with Alice tomorrow. But, we should go tell my mother and sister before Alice. They'll hurt me if they find out I didn't tell them first," I said seriously.

"Don't you mean they will be hurt?" Ali asked.

"No," I laughed.

She laughed with me, and it sounded like angels singing.

* * *

Allison's POV

The next morning felt like any other morning, yet infinitely more special. The birds were chirping outside while I made breakfast, and everything felt _right_. I had finally found where I belonged, and I got to keep it. The feeling was too amazing for words.

Actually, there were words to describe it: Mrs. Allison Clearwater. That just sounds so perfect…

"Do you know what kind of dress you want to wear?" Juliet asked. She had been asking me questions about the wedding all morning. It was adorable.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see what looks good on me," I answered.

"But you're so pretty. Everything will look good on you," Juliet countered.

"Then I have no idea," I laughed. There was no pleasing that girl.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind. Sue had screamed like a middle school girl seeing the Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber on the same street, she was so happy. Harry had laughed like crazy at that. Leah just hugged me and welcomed me into the family, and she was glad that Seth had imprinted on me. I cried a little when she told me that. I think that was the best part of the day.

Since Alice can't see the wolves, she had no idea why we were at the Cullen house. So when we told her, she freaked out even more than Sue. I didn't even know that was possible. She immediately launched into plans for the wedding. Bella just shook her head, and gave me a few tips for dealing with her crazy sister-in-law during the next few months.

We set a date for the wedding, and, looking into Seth's eyes so full of love, I knew I was exactly where I belonged.

* * *

**It's finished! I can't believe that the epilogue is the only thing left. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers who have made this journey with me! It's been amazing!**

**I have a new story coming up once the epilogue is finished, and it's a tie between Katherine, the not-actually insane girl, and Jezebel, the crazy-powerful witch. Katherine's story will be named "Love Like Crazy" and I'm not sure about Jezebel's story yet. I'm thinking something like "Burn Bright", "Cyanide Sun", or "As the Sky Turns Red". One of those names, if I can't think of anything else. So let me know what you think before the weekend ends, because I'm making my final decision on Monday night. Remember, this is to figure out which story I'll be writing FIRST. So if your favorite doesn't win, I will write it later on. Let me know what you think at the bottom of a review, in a PM, or in my poll on my profile.**

**Thanks again!**


	17. Epilogue: Everything Falls Into Place

**Holy crap, it's the end! I never thought this day would come. I would like to thank all of my readers and my reviewers profusely. You made this possible! So, check out one of my new stories, either "Love Like Crazy" or Dark Light", I still haven't decided which story to post yet. Regardless of which story I choose to write first, the first chapter will be up by Friday! Thank you all once again!**

* * *

Allison's POV

One thing I can say for Alice: she works quickly.

It had been four months since the confrontation with my father and Patrick. As soon as we asked Alice about our wedding, she freaked and demanded that she be the wedding planner. Her wedding present to us, she claimed. Edward had joined in the conversation and said the Cullen family would pay for the event. The rest of the Cullen family's present to us. Knowing better than to argue, Seth and I thanked them and agreed.

The big day was tomorrow, and I was more than a little nervous. I had absolutely no doubts about Seth, but still… was such a huge party necessary? Why had I agreed to this spectacle? I was probably going to trip in whatever death-trap heels Alice had planned for me to wear.

I sat at my kitchen table, wondering what Seth was doing now. He could usually talk me around my doubts about the huge wedding.

Jake, Quil, and Russ had arrived about two hours ago to take Seth out for his bachelor party. Jake said they were only going for a run. Russ stressed, multiple times, that I wasn't allowed to see Seth again until I was walking down the aisle.

Unbeknownst to them, Juliet has been saying the same thing for four months.

So here I was, alone on a Friday night, doing absolutely nothing.

"These traditions are silly," Rika said for the hundredth time. "Why can't you see him? And why do you have to wear white? It's so bland, and definitely not your best color. You would look much better in a pretty summer-sky blue dress with white embroidery. That would look marvelous! Why aren't we doing that?"

"Dearest, it's her wedding and her traditions," Aki reminded her… again.

"I know, and she's being amazing about including our traditions as well, but hers are so ridiculous! The garter thing around her thigh is the worst. It must be so uncomfortable, and what is it supposed to signify?" Rika had been voicing opinions like these since Alice started planning.

"Quit complaining, Dearest, or I'll make you wait with the High Spirits until the wedding begins," Aki warned her.

"You wouldn't dare!" Rika hissed.

"Children! Enough! You're giving me a headache!" Juliet shouted. Which only added to my headache.

"We are not children," Aki said slowly, trying to keep his anger out of his voice.

"You're acting like them!" Juliet huffed.

"This is what raising kids is going to be like," Harry muttered to me under his breath.

"Which is why I want two kids at most," I replied.

"Good luck telling Sue that. By the way, she'll be calling soon," Harry said lightly.

Aki, Rika, and Juliet fell silent after that, glancing cautiously at me.

"Why? Did Sue have a bachelorette party planned for me? Someone must have told Sue about the party Leah and Kim threw for me last week. It was, after all, at her house," I laughed. The party consisted of my favorite girly movies and lots of food that had dangerous levels of sugar and salt in them. It was one of the best nights of my life.

"Sue has another surprise for you," Aki said carefully.

Before I could question them further, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, glaring at my spirit friends.

"Allison? It's Sue. If you're not busy, would you mind coming over to our house for a few hours? I have a… surprise for you," my future mother-in-law said.

"Sure, I'll be right there," I said. I grabbed my phone, my purse, and my shoes, and got in my car.

I questioned the spirits about this surprise the whole way to the Clearwater house. They evaded, ignored, or downright lied to every question I asked at them. I hate surprises. They never end well for me. The last surprise I had? Being told I was shaman. After being strangled. Like I said, surprises are bad.

I pulled up behind Charlie's police cruiser (he had officially moved in two months ago), still clueless.

Sue opened the door before I could knock.

"Allison, I don't know how you're going to react, but Alice invited someone who wasn't on the original guest list," she explained quickly.

"Who?" I gasped. Who else could Alice have possibly invited? All of La Push and half of Forks had been invited. Who else was there?

"Allison?" The lovely voice stopped me cold.

Sue stepped out of the way and led me inside to the cozy living room where my mother sat, looking as dainty and fashionable as ever.

"Allison!" Carolina Silverton gasped out as she pulled me into a strong hug. "Allison, you look so beautiful!"

I was too surprised to move. My uncaring, aloof mother had put her glamorous life aside to come to my wedding?

"Mom, what are you doing here?" I whispered while she hugged me. My arms were wrinkling her jacket and my hair must be smudging her make-up, but she didn't seem to care for once.

"Look," my mother began, sounding heartbroken, "I know I've never been a good mother, and I've never given you the attention you deserve, or the relationship you needed. But I realize now what I've been missing, and even though it's too late to get the years I missed back, I'm going to start now."

"Oh, Mom," I started crying. I couldn't help it. My mother was finally going to be a mother in more than name. I couldn't have received a better wedding gift from her.

"Oh, and I'm divorcing your father. He never pays attention to me. Remind me to thank whoever came up with the idea of alimony," my mother laughed.

"Thank the High Spirits! She's finally seen sense!" my grandmother appeared next to Aki, looking happier in death than I had ever seen her in life. "Good God, that woman needed a smack upside the head every day when she was a girl. It's a good thing you've got a better head on your shoulders, Allison, or you would be doomed to a life of stupidity, just like her."

"I'm really glad to hear that, Mom. Are you coming to the wedding tomorrow?" I asked eagerly. It would mean the world to me if my mother was coming.

"Of course! That's why that Alice girl called me! She said you were getting married to a great guy, and she thought I would like to come," my mom laughed. "My baby girl's wedding! When do I get to meet the lucky man, anyways?"

"He's at his bachelor's party right now, so tomorrow, I guess," Sue answered, laughing as well.

"It just means I'll see him in his best clothes, so there will be nothing to complain about!" my mom answered, laughing even harder. I'm not quite sure what the joke was, but it looks like the in-laws are going to be getting along just fine.

"What about complaining?" Charlie asked as he came in to the room, holding a bag of chips.

"Charlie, this is Allison's mother, Carol. Carol, this is my boyfriend, Charlie," Sue introduced the two.

"Allison, we have an issue that requires the shaman's attention," Aki interrupted.

_What's going on?_ I asked silently, tuning out the conversation between my mother and Charlie.

"There's a coven of vampires approaching La Push – fast," Rika said seriously. "There are three of them, two males and a female. You need to be there when the wolves destroy them."

_Why do I have to be there? What's going to happen?_ I needed to know so I could prepare for whatever was going to happen.

"The High Spirits said you needed to be there. That's all we know," Harry answered.

"Mom, Sue, Charlie," I said aloud. "I need to get going. I forgot that Alice is coming over tonight to discuss some last-minute things for tomorrow."

"Alright, honey! Sue and I will be at your house tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp to help you get ready," my mom said. She hugged me tight, I gave another hug to Sue, a quick nod to Charlie, and I was gone.

I drove my car only to the edge of the forest before I jumped out and ran. I bounded through the forest, adjusting my course as Aki instructed.

The run seemed to take forever, but I arrived at the clearing in twenty minutes. I watched as the wolves circled and snapped at the trio of vampires.

The giant white wolf that was Russ spotted me. I could practically hear his thoughts: _What the hell are you doing here, Allison? You could get hurt._

"Soul Singer, you must stop the wolves from destroying the dark-haired cold one," the High Spirit of the Wind whispered to me.

The High Spirit of the Earth spoke next. "He has served his gods well, and now he can return to the world of the living."

"Death is free? What does that have anything to do with the vampire?" I asked while the wolves tore the vampires apart.

"He has served well, and will be given eternity to be with the one he loves," the High Spirit of the Ocean explained.

"You're giving him the vampire's body?" I gasped in surprise. I thought he was just going to be reincarnated.

"Yes," the three sisters answered at the same time.

Jake and Russ had transformed back into humans to build the fire that would finish off the vampire coven.

"Wait!" I shouted, leaping into the clearing. "Don't destroy the dark-haired one!"

"Allison, what are you doing here?" Russ asked as he threw more wood onto the fire.

"I'm here to make sure everyone gets their happy ending! Put the dark-haired vampire back together!" I shouted. Didn't they understand that Leah's very happiness was at stake?

"Allison, what are you talking about? All three of these vampires drank human blood! We have to destroy them," Jake said exasperatedly.

"I don't care about the vampires that were! I care about the vampire that's going to be, and so should you!" I shouted at him.

"What the hell is any of that supposed to mean?" Jake was shouting back now.

"It means you need to put him back together, or one of the wolves is never going to imprint!"

"He's a guy! And all of the wolves have already seen him!"

"Him as he was! _Not as he's going to be!_"

"Jake, when has Allison ever led us the wrong way?" Russ asked quietly. "She can't explain it. There are a lot of things we can't explain. If what she thinks is going to happen doesn't, we can just rip him apart again, can't we?"

Jake stared at Russ for a long time. The rest of the wolves were staring at Jake, waiting for orders on what to do with the pale white body parts scattered in front of them. Except for Seth. He had left the clearing as soon as I had entered it. Silly, superstitious boy…

"Fine," Jake said finally. "What do we want to happen?"

"Just put him back together, and you'll see," I said cryptically. Why spoil the surprise?

Jake and Russ started piecing the vampire back together, letting the body parts magically connect back together. When Jake set the head, the final piece, back on the shoulders, the dark eyes opened wide and the body leapt into a standing position.

"Yes! Corporeal body! Gods, I missed having limbs!" Death laughed and danced around.

The small gray wolf I knew to be Leah froze. Jake noticed, as well.

"Aw, don't tell me Leah just imprinted on a bloodsucker!" he whined.

"No, she just imprinted on Death," I corrected happily.

"What?"

"Leah!" Death cried out happily upon seeing her. "My goodness, have I missed you! Isn't this wonderful? I'll never die, you'll never die, it's a great thing, really. Can you turn back into a human so I can hug you properly?"

Leah ran into the woods, presumably to put clothes on. I was glad she was coherent enough to remember clothes.

"See, Jake? Everything worked out fine," I smiled at his bewildered face. "And can someone call Seth back here? It's not midnight yet. We can see one another until midnight."

Leah ran out of the woods, but stopped before she reached Death.

"Death? It's common courtesy to tell your soul mate your name before you hug her," I called to him.

"Oh, right! Well, my darling, I'm Death, also known as the Grim Reaper, the Harbinger of Doom, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and –"

"Human name!" I corrected.

"But I don't remember it!"

"Oh. Well then, Leah, what do you want to name him?" I asked her. She just stood there, staring at Death in disbelief.

"Well, if you don't have a particular name in mind, I'll come up with one," Death said. "How about Alexander? It's a nice, strong name. Alexander the Great was a decent fellow, a little power-crazy, but it's still a good name. Leah, dear, do you like it?"

He looked at Leah expectantly. She blinked, and her face broke out into a huge smile.

"I think it's perfect," she said, and ran into his open arms.

* * *

The next morning, about a dozen women were running around my house, trying to get everything ready.

My mother was doing my hair, Alice was doing my make-up, and Bella was bringing my dress in. Leah was getting everyone's bouquets, Kim and Emily were getting Claire into her flower girl dress, and Sue was calling Charlie for the eighth time to make sure the boys would be on time. Lily was doing the traditional gift exchange, traveling to the Clearwater house to deliver my wedding present to Seth. Russ would come back with her to deliver Seth's gift to me. Everything was hectic, but I knew it would all pay off in a few hours.

Lily was my maid-of-honor, with Alice, Leah, and Emily as my bridesmaids. Claire was going to be the flower girl. Seth had Russ for his best man, with Jake, Edward, and Brady as his groomsmen.

One hour and one crazy car-ride later, we arrived at First Beach, where Alice had set up white decorations everywhere for the ceremony. All of the guests had already been seated, and the boys were all lined up at the altar. Seth was standing in a tux with Mr. Weber, the minister, waiting for me.

As far as everyone who wasn't in on the supernatural secret knew, I was walking down the aisle alone. Everyone else knew that Taha Aki was walking at my side. The ceremony was short and simple, yet full of so much meaning.

When Seth kissed me for the first time as my husband, the world had never looked brighter.

* * *

**It's done! I can't believe it! Thank you all for making this journey with me, and check out my next story, due out before Friday! Ciao!**


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